Articles by Simon Fearn

Bull

If you’ve ever cursed Human Resources for making you work with such unreasonable people, you should see what Thomas has to put up with! Mike Bartlett’s 2013 tale of Darwinian c…

About a Girl

There aren’t many plays with a cast of teenagers that are this slick.

Hyena

I’ve finally found it: the Fringiest show at the Fringe! Hyena is a free-wheeling, difficult, often uncomfortable and sometime revelatory experience.

Procrastinate

Procrastination may confound human progress and productivity, but it also provides the inspiration for Brick by Brick’s fantastic, multimedia clown show.

King John

Performed by a company of young actors, this is a credible adaptation of Shakespeare’s rarely performed King John that revels in the high stakes of its historical narrative.

Five Kinds of Silence

It’s hard to imagine a more emotionally-gruelling hour of theatre: three women held prisoner by an abusive patriarch finally free themselves from his clutches by shooting him in …

I Love You / It's Over

As a piece of verbatim theatre, I Love You / It’s Over gives a much more clear headed, down-to-earth view of love than you’re likely to find in a more highly wrought play.

Of Wardrobes and Rings

David Payne, having already portrayed C.

Troilus and Cressida

Rarely performed and more or less unknown to all but the most hardcore of Shakespeare addicts, Troilus and Cressida explores star-crossed love and political machinations in the mid…

Happy Yet?

If you’re expecting an uncomfortable exploration of mental health issues and the stigmas associated with them, the tone of Happy Yet? might catch you off-guard.

Six Characters in Search of a Handout

An adaptation of Luigi Pirandello’s 1921 absurdist piece, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Barrie Wheatley’s modernised version blends the source material’s meta-theatr…

The Maiden's Toy

With hints of Black Swan and Inland Empire, Olly Lawson’s new play is a surprisingly arresting example of student writing.

Sacré Blue

In an hour that mixes spoken word and storytelling, Zöe Murtagh explores the symptoms and stigmas faced by anxiety sufferers in a show co-written with Victoria Copeland.

Irrelevant

In a sitcom-esque black comedy, three bohemian students lazily speculate about the end of the world, until they begin to suspect that one of them might have taken drastic action ag…

Awkward Confessions of a Homeless Sex God

A sure contender for Best Title for a Comedy Show at this year’s Fringe, George Zacharopoulos’s riches-to-rags tale is just as entertaining as it sounds.

'Tis Pity She's a Whore

Renaissance tragedies are rarely as enjoyably silly as Wanton Theatre’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore.

Good Grief

Review
★★
Simon Fearn
Edinburgh Fringe
Ciao Roma
17th Aug, 2016

A Free Fringe double bill of stand-up with no particular theme, Irish comedians Keith Fox and Ger Staunton underwhelm with their unassuming stage presence and only mildly amusing h…

The Dining Room

In a single dining room revisited over the course of the 20th Century, a series of family dramas show the decline of the American upper-middle class.

Spiders by Night: A Double Bill of Exciting New Monologues

Spiders by Night is one of the more intimate Fringe shows: two monologues about spiders and mental health difficulties.

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel

An improvised Jane Austen novel was always going to be a lot of fun, and Austentatious’s talented cast certainly delivered an amusing hour of comedy.

Mine

Mine is perhaps one of the most intense hours at the Fringe.

Broken Fanny

Writer and performer Emma Jerrold could be described as something of a hot property at this year’s Fringe.

Remember to Breathe

Following the story of an Irish emigrant’s relationship with her father, Remember to Breathe is quietly affecting rather than arresting; assured and well-rounded rather than boun…

Scorch

One of the things I’ve noticed about this year’s Fringe is the number of stellar one-woman shows, and Prime Cut Productions’ Scorch is the best so far.

Steam

Steam lives up to its name, delivering a staggeringly intense hour of physical theatre.

Happy Together

Wow! Happy Together is a ferociously intelligent new play by MA student Kate Newman, and perhaps the most meta thing at the Fringe.

Mr Incredible

There are plenty of plays at this year’s Fringe which criticise gender norms and take on patriarchal systems, but Mr Incredible truly gets to the heart of the kind of beliefs tha…

James Meehan – Class Act

There is always plenty of political comedy at the Fringe, but rarely as passionate and earnest as James Meehan’s Class Act.

Stuff

What is love? In an immersive clown show with an interesting lyrical vein, Sean Kempton (of Cirque du Soleil) attempts to find out.

Rahul Kohli: Newcastle Brown Male

If you’re looking for some genuinely funny political comedy, Rahul Kohli is your man.

Evil

An adaptation of Jan Guillou’s semi-autobiographical novel, which went on to become an Oscar-nominated film in 2003, Evil tells the story of systematic bullying and brutality at …

LJ DA FUNK's Anti-Fascist Counter-Terrorist Comedy Orgy

Dressed like a hip hop stereotype and with an accent he describes as “Forrest Gump on crack”, LJ Da Funk is the brainchild of stand-up Zac Splijt.

LoveHard: The House on the Hill

Perhaps one of the most entertaining shows I have seen on the Free Fringe, Lovehard consists of comedians Jacob Lovick and Tyler Harding (see what they did there?), who in what is …

Peter White: Straight White Male

Peter White made a controversial decision to write a stand-up show about the problems faced by straight, white men, and it’s unclear whether this is quite brave or a terrible mis…

Cook It How You Like, It's Still a Potato!

Despite coming across as likeable and charming, Romina Puma’s stand-up set doesn’t provoke too many laughs.

Murder She Didn't Write

There are a fair number of improvised comedies this year, but Degrees of Error’s Murder She Didn’t Write is causing a particular buzz.

Sleeping Trees: Sci-Fi?

After Mafia? and Western? at previous Fringes, comedy trio Sleeping Trees now turn their gaze to the stars.

Electric Eden

Come for an immersive ‘clubbing’ atmosphere and free face paint; stay for perceptive political dilemmas and great naturalistic performances.

The Toyland Murders

Like a family-friendly version of Sin City with hand puppets, The Toyland Murders follows the adventures of Inspector McGraw (Becca Jones) and her deputy as they attempt to track d…

Jamie MacDonald: High Vis

Jamie MacDonald comes from a tradition of endearingly grumpy comics, ranting affably about all of life’s niggles, from racist taxi drivers to obnoxious ramblers.

Alex Kealy is an Idea Whose Time Has Come

Joining the ranks of slightly nerdy comedians who primarily joke about their non-existent sex lives, So You Think You’re Funny finalist Alex Kealy is a safe bet for some well-tho…

Lovely Lady Lump

Part monologue, part stand-up show, Lana Schwarcz (writer, actor, puppeteer and comedian) shares her experience of breast cancer with honest emotion and cheesy one-liners.

Crazed

Anyone looking for important and assured new writing would be well-advised to give Ecce Theatre’s Crazed a look.

Stuart Mitchell: Dealt a Bad Hand

As soon as Stuart Mitchell entered the room, I knew I was in a safe pair of hands.

Smart

Smart may seem innovative in putting Facebook and Tinder at the heart of a drama, but this cannot compensate for boring and one-dimensional characters and a tedious plot.

Gráinne Maguire: Great People Making Great Choices

Graínne Maguire is a pretty cool woman, and once trended worldwide for tweeting the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) updates on her menstrual cycle.

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