2010 Edinburgh Fringe
Stand Up For Freedom review
Amnesty International's annual Stand Up For Freedom comedy show is always a hot ticket at the Fringe. In 2010 The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (Venue 150) was once again packed to the rafters as, for one night only, the top stand-ups from the festival were brought together on the one bill to help highlight Amnesty's cause. The show ran for an epic two and a half hours, and here's a rundown of the main highlights:
The first half was compared by Adam Hills who is clearly on top form at the moment, and thus made for an ideal host. The Australian comic's main Fringe show this year is all about improvised stand-up, and Hills certainly got to practice that on this evening. Within minutes a slightly drunk woman in the front row interrupted proceedings as she wanted Hills to sign her breasts. Ever the professional, the comedian obliged and then went on to deliver a solid five minutes of top quality off-the-cuff material based on the event that had just happened.
The biggest stars of the show were probably not the comedians though but Yvonne and Catherine, the sign language ladies who took it in turns to stand at the side of the stage to interpret jokes for the deaf members of the audience (which got me thinking about whether puns, rap and poetry work in sign-language form, but that's a topic for another day). Pretty much every comic had some un-scripted fun with the two ladies, with Adam Hills setting the bar high by using his own knowledge of sign language to string together some seemingly innocuous words which resulted in Yvonne making some filthy looking actions.
With the audience well and truly warmed up, Doc Brown was the first to the stage, delivering his well-crafted rap songs about Britain's Olympic hopes and the phone call he made to his ex-girlfriend. For many of the acts, as Doc Brown's set demonstrates, this Amnesty gig was pretty much a case of delivering tried-and-tested 'best of' hits. For dedicated comedy fans it was a bit of a case of 'heard this before', but it was still fun to see these sets performed in front of a large appreciative crowd.
Danielle Ward followed with a routine about burlesque which the audience took a while to warm to. Tim Key set the room alight though with his dead-pan delivery of his hilarious short poems. Next up was Dan Antopolski with a string of well-received gags, with the one about how his wife is like a WiFi connection going down particularly well.
What makes a gig special is when something un-predictable and un-planned occurs, and that's exactly what happened next when a slightly jolly (i.e. possibily drunk, in the nicest possible way) Jason Byrne turned up on stage next to Adam Hills just as he was about to announce the next act. It was clear the organisers weren't expecting the Fringe star (I later found out Byrne had been performing a corporate gig next door and snuck into the auditorium), but he was made very welcome. The next 10 minutes were pure comedy gold as Hills and Byrne bantered, followed by the Irish comic deciding he would have a go at delivering the sign language himself. It would be fair to say he didn't stick to strict British Sign Language interpretations.
Following his own unique sign-language gesture for 'Ireland' and rapturous applause, Byrne disappeared to make way for Michael Mittermeier (pictured) - a German comedian with a decent line of gags about his country and Britain.
By this point the gig was only half-way-through. The organisers probably should have put in an interval at this point to allow people to get to the loo without missing any of the comedy but, with so much still to pack in, the show pressed on with Scotland's own Fred MacAulay taking over compare duty. His joke about Neds (Scottish chavs) and their hats is just brilliant.
Comedy superstar John Bishop (pictured) certainly pleased the crowd with routines about flying on cheap airlines, how he was getting one of his sons to promote his Fringe show, and how Amnesty's Secret Policeman logo looks like... actually, it's perhaps best not to print his funny observation here in public.
Josie Long somewhat struggled to follow this act with her attempt at a slightly whimsical play, but there was still much to enjoy in her set.
Emo Philips delivered a string of gags in his slightly breathless and odd way, before playing the audience a comedy film he had made several years ago. He used a clarinet to provide live music to accompany this silent film.
And, to end the comedy, headliner and Fringe favourite Mark Watson delivered ten minutes of stand-up in his trademark fast-talking, rambling, and half-improvised style.
Despite the late hour, pretty much all the audience stayed on to hear Michael Mittermeier return to the stage to introduce a short film about what the night was all about. Much like the gig, this review will end with the same message as it is rather worthy indeed:
This year Amnesty is campaigning for Zarganar, Burma's top com ??????????????????????? review_tag
ÿ review_score ÿ review_image 5 review_title ÿ review_comedy 5 review_intro edian, who is currently serving a 35-year jail sentence for speaking out against the government. Yes, 35 years in jail just for criticising the Government! Imagine what Mock the Week would be like in Burma.
The latest news (Friday 20th August) is that news of Amnesty's Edinburgh campaign has got into Burma via the independent media, so it looks like the gig could have a real impact. Amnesty wants everyone to write to Burma's officials to help with the cause - to find out how to get involved see www.amnesty.org.uk
In summary, another top-quality gig from Amnesty, which is in aid of a worthy campaign. Make sure you book early for the 2011 show!