Articles by Louise Jones

NOTFLIX

Remember that bit in Silence of the Lambs when Bob the prison guard finally faces up to his feelings for co-worker Janine? Me neither, but this isn’t a film on Netflix: it’s an…

Adele Cliff : Sheep

Adele Cliff is no mindless follower, a point she’s very keen to address.

Accidents Happen to Sasha Ellen

Few people can turn the (vividly graphic) tale of a dead rabbit into stand-up, but Sasha Ellen is somebody who’s learned the hard way to take life’s hurdles with an incontrover…

Jack Left Town: The Improvised Rock Documentary

An improvised rock documentary is a tall order, and Jack Left Town sets out with boundless enthusiasm, a strong absurdity curve and sick air guitar to deliver, even if some areas a…

Planet Earth III

David Attenborough meets clowning in this low-budget romp through the Earth’s depleted natural world.

Beardyman: One Album Per Hour

Starting a show with a song containing the lyrics “it’s a stupid idea and it’ll never work” feels somewhat disingenuous when the song’s fully orchestrated and lit.

Our Man

Anybody who finds themselves rooting for a couple in a film or show will love the responsibility handed out by Ae-Ja Kim in Our Man.

Gillian Cosgriff: This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Gillian Cosgriff is an absolute sweetheart with the pipes of a jazz singer and a wicked sense of humour to match.

JOAN

Too often Joan of Arc is depicted as a very quiet, very pure young woman who keeps her gaze firmly on her feet or to the Heavens: not very fun at all.

Gabriel Ebulue: Hip-Punk

What’s your favourite music album? It’s something that not everybody puts a lot of thought into, but for Gabriel Ebulue it’s a make-or-break situation when making a first imp…

Beth Vyse: As Funny as Cancer

Beth Vyse’s show opens in a truly Fringe fashion: handing out ping pong balls to the audience, dressed in a voluminous blonde wig and a huge pair of joke-shop boobs, singing alon…

Bourgeois & Maurice: How to Save the World Without Really Trying

2016’s been a bit of a bumpy year to say the least so, it was only a matter of time before we started receiving advice from extra-terrestrials.

Character Tålks

Pernilla Holland’s debut solo show is an ambitious but bumpy foray into character comedy.

Lewis Macleod is Not Himself

Lewis Macleod’s impersonation skills are unlike anything I’ve seen - though they are like plenty of things you will have heard.

An Act of Godley: Janey Godley

A status as Fringe favourite and a viral stint for her infamous “Trump is a cunt” sign at the businessman’s visit to the Trump Turnberry golf resort mean that Janey Godley’…

Ashley Storrie and Other Erotica

“I don’t want your opinions printed,” Ashley Storrie says to any potential reviewers in the audience.

A Sketchy History

Huddled underground in a nuclear bunker, Three Men in a Boot attempt to recreate history as best they can whilst staving off hunger (and potentially another Ice Age).

Tony Law: A Law Undo His-elf What Welcome

Sometimes you wonder if you need the context of a previous comedian’s shows to really ‘get’ their most recent work.

Scarlet SoHandsome and Fiends

For a drag queen, Scarlet SoHandsome is a real sweetie.

Jamali Maddix: Chickens Come Home to Roost

Jamali Maddix creates a buzz when he enters the stage, and why not? He’s a cool guy.

Kinsey Sicks: Lady Cocks of Bang Boys

I have binge-watched six series of RuPaul’s Drag Race on Netflix and I love drag queens.

Rachel Parris: Best Laid Plans

Parris has a seemingly natural knack for creating comedy imbued with emotional depth that doesn’t feel forced or insecure.

Neal Portenza. Neal Portenza. Neal Portenza. Tracey.

I’ve been mulling over more scholarly words to describe Neal Portenza and his show, but I honestly cannot fight the urge to call it batshit.

Norris & Parker: See You at the Gallows

Dark humour isn’t in short supply this Fringe - in case you hadn’t noticed, celebrity and political news of late has had a tangible effect on performers.

Rowena Hutson: Strong Female Character

Rowena Hutson owes her feminist outlook on life to action heroes of the 1980s.

Bella Younger’s Deliciously Stella

Deliciously Stella is what you expect her to be: if you’ve seen the Instagram account which has become a viral hit with its piss-take of ‘fitspiration’ and other smug hashtag…

Callisto: A Queer Epic

Callisto: A Queer Epic is a thoughtful piece of theatre which explores social conflicts that coincide with the queer lifestyle.

Lolly 2

Thirty seconds in and an audience member is on the stage already: Lolly Adefope doesn’t mess around.

Apocalypse Cruise Ship Love Affair

Beach Comet have secured themselves as masters of a B-movie musical genre, inviting guests aboard a doomed cruise liner for a riotous hour of exaggerated figures and fantastically …

A Regular Little Houdini

Houdini came to Newport twice in the early twentieth century - not a piece of information you’d find at the top of Houdini’s Wikipedia page, but of utmost significance to young Ala…

Axis of Awesome: Won't Ever Not Stop Giving Up

In terms of their brand of comedy rock, Axis of Awesome fall more into the rock than comedy genre: there’s far more liberal use of a smoke machine than your average musical comed…

Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Hysterical Woman

Standing defiantly under the glare of a neon working men’s club sign, Kiri Pritchard-Mclean tackles schema in a bold and impressive solo hour.

Shit-Faced Showtime

It’s not too likely that a straight production of The Pirates of Penzance would garner that wide an audience at the Fringe – a Gilbert and Sullivan musical isn’t the most buz…

Max & Ivan: Our Story

Max & Ivan are celebrating the anniversary of when they met – and having in recent years become a staple of the Fringe, it’s easy to understand why.

Mr Swallow – Houdini

It’s not every day you find yourself leaning forward on your seat due to the sheer suspense of a show.

Nick Hall: Szgrabble

Nick Hall’s one-man cold war thriller is an active piece, darting through London, Amsterdam, and under the Iron Curtain to the heart of the Soviet Union, all in the pursuit of a …

Tim Drain: I Know How to Make the Women I Sleep with Laugh

I went into Tim Drain’s show fully prepared for some offensive stuff.

The Graduettes

The Graduettes starts with a great farce premise: flatmates wake up on Christmas morning to find their home robbed and their landlady dead on the floor.

Toys

Jack BK’s original written piece deals with class struggles, privilege and ignorance in a clear and effective way.

Death Actually: A Necromantic Comedy

Death Actually sets out to bring ‘lethal puns and dead funny songs’ in a larger than life musical.

What a Load of Skit

It’s clear that the sketch trio made of Oli Gilford, Edd Cornforth and Jake Shoolheifer have good comic potential, and bounce nicely off each other.

BEINGS

Susan Harrison and Andrew Gentilli are clearly good improvisers, and their joint credentials imply that BEINGS should be a highly entertaining and swift hour of long form improv co…

Cocaine and Potatoes

Matthew Giffen is a charming whirlwind of a man, commanding the audience with his larger-than-life on-stage persona.

Supertown

Robert Sanders and James Sidgwick have created a lightly entertaining musical around superhero tropes and aesthetic, making for cute if not somewhat pantomime-esque hour and a half…

Comedians' Cinema Club

No amount of advance research can prepare you for Comedians’ Cinema Club.

The Wishing-Chair Adventures

Running Torch’s The Wishing-Chair Adventures prides itself on audience interaction.

Ed Gamble: Lawman

Ed Gamble is a man who plays by the rules – his rules, which he probably has laminated and stuck up somewhere around the house.

The Alphabet Girl

Renny Krupinski’s script is an ambitious one: chronicling the lives of one family across three generations, The Alphabet Girl aims to show the destruction of family values and the …

The Nutty Professor and his Amazing Magic Bubble Show

Children’s entertainment should be brimming with energy, lovable and over-the-top characters, and enchanting tricks.

Eejit of Love

In theory, Eejit of Love is a fun concept: two Irish country bumpkins find themselves swept up in the allure of reality TV, testing their relationship and their own willpower.

Remember Doctor Bubble – the Bubble Magician

Tumbling across the stage with the energy of ten children’s birthday parties, Playhouse International (Romania and Australia) create a completely chaotic environment which is bound…

Sam and Helen: Out There

I’m pretty certain this is the first comedy show I’ve ever been to with an audience dance break.

Dan Nicholas: Reverb (The Love Story of Terrance the Crocodile and Julia the Mannequin)

It’s your classic love story, really: inflatable crocodile meets mannequin head, they fall for each other but soon enough cracks show and they fall apart.

Get Your Shit Together

Job losses, painful break ups and junk food - set to music! Get Your Shit Together is the perfect pick me up for 20-somethings in a similar situation, or just a nice dose of Schade…

Mae Martin: Us

Mae Martin is an absolute gem on the Free Fringe.

Gobsmacked!

When I was in high school Glee became really popular, and I loved it because it seemed so new and cool and sexy.

Peter Brush: Older Than the Oldest Dog That Ever Lived

Low energy comedian Peter Brush brings his awkward persona to rest upon matters of death and religion with a surprisingly lighthearted tone.

Late with Lance!

Lance Jonathan (Peter Michael Marino) has had enough of sitting around as understudy on his dads’ ship the S.

Katherine Ryan: Kathbum

Katherine Ryan makes it clear from the moment she wanders onto the stage and discusses the logic behind R&B song Smell Yo Dick that she doesn’t give a rat’s ass what you think.

Eat Me! Drink Me! Buy Me!

“Did she fall or was she pushed?” posits the Mad Hatter (Annie Neat), as Three Mugs of Tea embark on their consumerist take on Alice in Wonderland.

Megan Ford: Feminasty

Feminasty is a rollercoaster of irreverent, witty humour with a real agenda at hand.

The Element in the Room: A Radioactive Musical Comedy about the Death and Life of Marie Curie

I think I’ve found my new favourite musical, thanks to Tangram Theatre and their amazing piece on one of the 20th century’s most important scientists.

Citizen Puppet

Blind Summit bring a mastery of puppetry to the stage, layering meta-narrative upon verbatim performance upon crime headline in an original look at the aftermath of the Jack and th…

NewsRevue 2015

2015 has surely been a bumper crop for satire.

David Elms: Mister Boy

David Elms brings his muted comedic style in the form of musical vignettes.

Iain Stirling: Touchy Feely

Iain Stirling has an excellent way of working a crowd.

Tom Stade

Tom Stade seems to have gone out of his way to be anything but the Canadian stereotype.

The GYF Yorkshire Day Podcast with Robert Ross in Conversation with Mark Addy

Before the podcast officially begins, we’re invited to watch a clip of Yorkshire born and bred actor Mark Addy in action.

Sara Pascoe and The Museum of Robot Pussycats

Feeling spiritual? Sara Pascoe has invented her own religion and we’re all invited! Eschewing the other faiths on offer, Pascoe takes to the stage with her “scripture” professing…

Login

Create Account

Username or Password Reminder

Articles by Louise Jones

Most Popular See More

Popular Articles

Popular Sections

Contact Us