Fringe – Best and Worst

We know it’s been and gone, but here’s the Tab’s quick rundown of the terrific and downright abominable of Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival 2013:

The Best:

Theory of Justice, the Musical  *****

John Rawls’ (notoriously dry) 500-page defence of egalitarian liberalism is not obvious inspiration for a musical. However, this production adeptly converted political-philosophy to songs that were a million miles from the wet farts of ‘Glee’. The caricatures of the philosophers kept it engaging. What’s not to like about Marx the psychotic prophet, Rand the dominatrix and Kant in drag?

Hardly justice keeping her blindfolded.

The Boy with Tape on His Face  *****

The plaudits and five star reviews and are not just hype. Although mime and the circus are usually awful, this combination of the two is brilliant. Imagine Rowan Atkinson impersonating Harpo Marx.

Say what?

Bin Laden: The One Man Show  *****

The architect of 9/11 is portrayed as a misguided idealist who employs increasingly extreme means to make the world a better place. A challenge for anyone who forgets that Bin Laden was not just a monster, but also a man who genuinely thought he was in the right. Managed to be fun and accessible without losing any gravity.

Mrs Green: The Musical *****

A man dressed as an old woman, Mrs Green, who grows cannabis in her living room and sings songs. Sounds awful…Turns out it was one of the most hilarious, heart-warming and inspired shows at the Fringe.  With a Motown vibe to the songs, Mrs Green was accompanied by friends, young and old, who drop by for some ‘homegrown’ fun. It was hard not to well up at the encore.

Bad Bread: gLOVE contrACTUALLY’ ****

If you’re into your rom-coms, this was a must-see. A twisted love triangle classic rom-com, with scenes in the style of ‘Love Actually’. From imitating ‘Titanic’ to ‘Wimbledon’, their witty one-liners, and ability to snap into improvisation, had everyone cracking up. If you see them, sit in the front row. We promise you won’t be picked on….

Who would you choose?

The Worst:

Jem Brookes: Puntitled  *

Painful. Not even so bad that it was funny. Just felt really sorry for him as he cracked off terrible pun after awful one liner to no laughter.

Sh!t Faced Shakespeare  ***

Not dreadful, just very disappointing. A serious Shakespeare play (Much Ado About Nothing) where one actor is pissed sounded great. However, the ‘drunken’ actor was less ‘shit faced’ than tipsy. The cast were too obviously equipped to deal with him, removing any unpredictability that could have provided a much-needed edge.

Right back at ya!

Rose Wilby “Is Monogamy Dead?” **

Apparently trying to focus on the eponymous question, Wilby’s material searched the “crossroads” of relationships and sex to see whether we are capable or not of remaining in a two person relationship. Unfortunately, the question was never really answered. With frequent references to George Michael’s sex life and a live (and of course corny) audience game of “Family Fortunes”, the show felt dated.

Daniel Simonsen: Stranger (reviewed by Ben Cronin)

A comedy show that for the first fifteen minutes started out full of promise, quickly faded into a series of long, awkward silences, leaving the audience restless and looking for the exit. Gags about his gawky social tendencies seemed overplayed and a sketch referring to his strange, sexual preferences was both unoriginal and highly uncomfortable to watch. His award for Best Newcomer at last year’s festival seemed all too distant as the Norwegian stood alone under the spotlight, desperately searching for new material. He’s clearly a comedian of immense talent but seemed highly unprepared and unpolished once he had finished the clearly scripted opening segment.