Quantum Leap was a TV series of the late 80s / early 90s. Each episode saw Dr Sam Beckett appear in someone else's place at some point in the past, work out WTF was going on, and then attempt to change what was happening for the better. He would be aided by Admiral Al Calavicci – who only he could see – who was in turn helped by the computer Ziggy saying things like 'there is a 99% chance that this series has incredibly dodgy science'.
Here, it's been turned into a improv show by The Maydays, four women including the wonderful Liz Peters. To get the 'I don't know what's going on' aspect spot on, a guest star plays Sam and the audience-suggested theme of the show is kept from him. On the day I saw it, the guest hadn't realised that only he could see Al which added to the fun. Oh boy.
Overall, there's a 100% chance that it's considerably better than the TV show was…
4/5
On at 2:30pm at Cowgatehead room 6 (venue 32) until the 24th August. No shows on Mondays.
One of the six comedians at Pandamonium was Daphna Baram, who is a leftie Israeli ex-human rights lawyer, ex-journalist, and heart attack patient.
I don't know what her sample stand-up is like – we never got that far – but her main show is very good. I particularly liked the section on being an editor of a paper during the Second Palestinian Intifada, and how awful suicide bombings are for the paper. Why? Because when you send a dozen journalists out to interview the victims' families, the story is always the same: only wonderful people full of potential are victims of terrorism.
Recommended. And her accent isn't as bad as she claims either.
4/5
On at 8:30pm at the Cowgatehead room 3 (venue 32) until the 16th August.
After Liz Peters, I noticed that the next thing on in that room, Democracy is Broken with Russ Mulligan, looked interesting. After checking email etc, there was still about 10 minutes to go, so I had a wander around the space looking at posters etc. What's that happening in that room…?
'Ooooh!' say the six people talking in there, 'an audience!!' and they beg me to come in. I explain that I am going to see something else that's starting in a few minutes. 'OK, can we sing you a couple of songs?' If they want to, fine, but after getting on stage, they then spend the next few minutes discussing what to sing while one of them (who I later know is Daphna Baram) taps her watch saying, 'He's got to go, he's got to go…'
So I leave without the song and go back next door. Where there's me plus three others and they'd been paid to flyer the show and were only there to see what the thing they'd been promoting was actually like. The combination of the small audience plus not feeling up to it meant that Russ cancelled that performance, so I return to the six who are still there.
'Ooooh!' they say again, and this time, a couple of songs were sung. Afterwards, I say that this is not the worst thing I have seen at the Fringe this year, so they invite me up on stage to tell them about it, at which point Daphna posts this on Instagram: "When you have one member of the audience and six comedians there is only one thing you can do. Swap it. Ian the audience member takes the stage."
After that, three of them talk about their worst ever gig (one was 'gonged off' a show within about ten seconds – from what they said about their act then, I'm surprised it took that long – and still had to pay over a hundred pounds to stay in that city overnight) and we all leave reasonably happy, even if I didn't put anything in the collection bucket.
The show was 'Pandamonium' (the MC, Rory McAlpine has a toy panda), and I'm sure it's usually less chaotic than this 🙂
4/5 for me, ?/5 for them 🙂
It's on at 7:15pm at Cowgatehead space 4 (venue 32) until the 25th August (no show on the 13th). It's also on in Edinburgh throughout the year.
Liz Peters was one of the people at the Misandry Madness Showcase I had seen earlier and immediately wanted to see more of. She'd done some stand-up comedy there, and it turned out that is a relatively small part of her full show.
It also turned out to be very, very good. On the afternoon I saw it, the show almost started with two of us in the audience, but there were soon more through the doors and some of them went to get friends.
The show is a mix of songs and games as well as the stand-up (or sit down) comedy. You can see some of the songs on her lizpeters.com website, but you'll miss her ability to improvise a song on the spot. Lots of fun and definitely recommended.
4/5
On at 6:15pm at space 5 at Cowgatehead (venue 32) until 24th August. See it.
Kate Smurthwaite again, and again I didn't realise I'd seen her before at this Fringe. This time, I have even less of an excuse as the flyer has this on one side and The Evolution.. on the other. Ahem.
This one's a continuation of the 'News at Kate' political shows, the title coming from the incomprehensible Twitter hashtag used by people who didn't like her 'highbrow leftie atheist feminist' comments on the BBC's Question Time.
Subjects covered include some easy targets (how bad the Daily Mail Online is) and some edgier material (she is a spokesperson for Abortion Rights UK, and delightfully describes herself as pro-abortion rather than pro-choice). Again, her passion for the material comes across extremely well, and you'll doubtless learn something here too. Also definitely recommended.
4/5
On at 5pm at Viva Mexico (venue 274) until the 23rd August (not the 12th).
Rosie Wilby was at York University in the early 90s and joined the women's collective which produced the student feminist paper, Matrix. Rediscovering her collection of the early issues over twenty years later, she wondered what had happened to the other women…
The show is a mix of her personal history (haircuts, sexuality and activism) and the search for the other members, and it's not a spoiler to say that many of them have changed quite a bit. One good surprise is that the work continues with current students producing Matrix Reloaded named as a tribute to their work rather than the awful film sequel.
3/5
On at the Voodoo Rooms (venue 68) until the 24th August (not the 11th).
Kate Smurthwaite was one of the writers for the second series of The Revolution Will Be Televised, the excellent BBC3 political activism / comedy show. Gosh, isn't the title of this show similar? 🙂
It's political, partly because there are people who don't believe in evolution. They're wrong, to be blunt, and the show uses jokes, facts and games to show why. It's also because along with humans, the 'great apes' include bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, and one of the biggest differences is that there are a lot more of us (approaching 7,250,000,000) than them (less than 300,000 combined, with some in danger of extinction).
Her passion for the science comes across extremely well, and you'll doubtless learn something too. Definitely recommended.
Her full show turns out to be a fabulous look at sexual harassment she's experienced, pop culture, twerking, representations of women in the media, and how to do a good 'dick selfie'. About the only criticism I have is that I'd have moved the twerking demonstration to earlier in the show, rather than finishing with it, but the combination of the previous material and it is – like the rest of the show – something to make you think. It's just the least funny bit of it… Even so, this was the best thing I saw at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
I was going to give this 5/5 anyway, but should say that I discovered one of the benefits to sitting at the front in Fringe shows is that the performer(s) notice when you leave your phone behind and know who to describe when leaving it behind the bar for you to pick up after a frantic search and subsequent jog back from the next venue. Thank you again Sarah.
5/5
On at 7pm at the Southsider (venue 148) until the 20th August (no shows on the 13th or 14th). See it.
As well as the 'free fringe', if you walk around Edinburgh looking like a likely audience member, you can expect to be offered some free tickets to shows that normally charge, especially on the first week. With so many shows on, word of mouth is critical and if no-one's seen yours, that can't happen. I can't remember what I was on the way to see when I was offered this one…
He is Leo Conville and she is Sharnema Nougar. He has apparently been told not to say anything to the audience, but nothing was said about singing. So several of us are asked questions and encouraged to answer in the style of anop-er-aaaa… Then she comes on, diva style, and before too long three audience members are holding her up as she plays and sings while lying down in their arms or hanging upside down.
Fun for the performers and audience alike, and would have been good value at the normal £5.
3/5
On at 5pm at Just the Tonic at The Tron (venue 51), until the 24th August (except the 12th).
Gareth Morinan was a data analyst in the civil service. After a time at the Export Credit Guarantee Department (the UK Government's semi-business which insures the export risks the market won't touch) he moved to the Department for Children, Schools and Families. After the 2010 general election, Michael Gove was appointed to it, despite having zero experience of education since leaving university, and rebranded it the Department for Education.
It's safe to say that Gareth isn't one of Gove's few fans (there was a rare sighting of one in the audience when I saw it!) and has lots of personal stories to explain why not.
A mix of the amusing and the horrifying (and the amusingly horrifying), it works despite none of it being particularly surprising – even though I had forgotten his part in the expenses scandal, for example, that was discovered to have claimed for illegible items and had 'flipped' houses to avoid tax – and despite Gove's removal to be Conservative Chief Whip.
It also includes a very heartfelt plea that people in charge of important departments have some actual experience and skills in things relevant to their departments, rather than just being a friend of whoever the Prime Minister is. The technocratic revolution begins here…
4/5
On at 3:40pm at Canons Gait (venue 78) until the 24th August.
