This is a delightful concept; a warm and cosy room (could use better seating though as those stools…) with a leaky roof and a friendly host make for a lovely way to end the evening. Sarah Bennetto is the MC and each night sees a different group of comedians being invited to tell a story on the theme of the day. The theme for tonight was travel and the special guests were Thom Tuck (from the Penny Dreadfuls), Eric (Tales of the Sea), Joe Lycett and James Dowdseswell (My grandfather was a clown and those are big shoes to fill). There is also a competition for the audience to tell a tale on a piece of paper using only five words to win a prize.
Thom started the tale-telling (as he had to run off to perform immediately after). His tale of his childhood travelling the world and failing to find love with one girl by a river in Nepal, and another during a badminton tournament left the audience feeling very sorry for his tragic teenage years.
The second yarn spinner was ex-submariner Eric, who told a tale of swimming with sharks (not deliberate) and the subsequent two years of fear which he attempted to conquer by another foray into the sea with disastrous consequences. Did you know sharkskin was all teeth? If I was here for longer, I’d go see his show for the rest of his tales.
Third up was Joe Lycett but his stories were more about festivals and drinking. Still very funny but not so much on the theme, I thought.
James Dowdeswell is the partner of Sarah Bennetto and he amplified on the tale she had told of their trip to Majorca that hadn’t been a complete success (back pain, period pains, migraine, rain, Spain). He also spoke of a famous performer at the Fringe who was arrested for hitting a woman with a bunch of dead roses and of his attempt to walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End (the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities) with a friend and the people who picked him up before the police arrived. He also started chatting with a man in the audience (not me, this time) and Sarah had to rush on and point out the person was a reviewer which made much of the remainder of the show a little surreal.
We managed to read all the audience stories as well as wrap up other stuff on the stage and only finished ten minutes late (for a ninety minute show). This is an absolutely fabulous show and the audience were loving every minute of the show and the banter between the host, guests and various audience members. The time just flew by and I was a little sad I haven’t yet had any horrible holidays I could have written about.
Tonight, being Friday the 13th, the theme is scary stories and tomorrow is love stories. Later themes and guests can be found on myspace and twitter and facebook or you can just ask at the Pleasance, I reckon. Top show with too much fun to mention.
Visit the Edinburgh Fringe website for booking details