Starring: Kate Smurthwaite Venue: The Roman Eagle Lodge (just off the Royal Mile and about 100 m from the Tattoo
Kate Smurthaite is a comedian with a fairly long pedigree in the UK and is regularly on BBC radio panel shows as well as performing at many of the comedy venues around the UK (and the US). She is tall (too tall to be a fighter pilot) and is possibly in her late 20’s.
The premise of this show is Kate’s continuing search for the perfect adrenaline thrill. The show is in two stages, with a short intro and epilogue. The first half has Kate going through a list of the ways she has tried for the ‘adrenaline-rush’, with the help of an easel and butchers paper. We have such thrills as abseiling, skiing, wing-walking, the gym and a whole bunch of other fool-hardy attempts to get off. She tells stories about the most significant activities as well as listing the types and number of injuries occurred during the activity. There are lots of very funny moments is this rambling tale of a woman looking for the edge and the small audience really enjoyed themselves (first night – 15 in a 50 seat venue).
The second part of the show involved a little audience participation (in a passive sense). Kate played some characters who are either permanently high on adrenaline (Dianne Dingo – the Aussie adventurer) or the stress-induced adrenaline (Super Sandra) that comes with the modern lifestyle. This part of the show was very different to the first half and, although it was very well performed and funny, it was a little jarring to go from the friendly chatting to the audience of the first half to a theatrical performance.
The show as an entirety, though, is well written, well rehearsed and included a few amusing moments as parts of the show coincided effectively with the cannons from the tattoo. The audience enjoyed themselves and the people who got involved were well compensated for their efforts. The show may not be the biggest thing of the festival, but it is a fun way to spend an hour watching a very likeable young lady tell entertaining stories such as the time she staged a bar-room fight with a friend (just after they had done stunt training), and much more.
For booking details go to Adrenaline