Gail Porter: work in progress
ANDY MOSELEY tests the temperature at two of the hottest stand-up shows
Gail Porter: Poltergeist
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Taking its name from her time on TV shows such as Dead Famous, Poltergeist sees Gail Porter trawl through her school days, her showbusiness career and her time away from the camera for a series of anecdotes that sometimes culminate in very amusing punchlines and other times fizzle out and meander into nothingness.
The stories are presented as if they are literally dropping into her thoughts as she decides to say them. There is a limited sense of any thread running through them and, added to the slightly shambolic, unprepared style of delivery she adopts, it feels more like someone speaking to old friends in a pub rather than giving a live performance to an audience of mostly strangers.
The number of direct comments Porter made to friends in the front rows when she talked about their shared past only added to this feeling of intrusion on a chat at the start of a night out.
The show has some charm and there are a lot of stories in it that are funny or reflective and that could be developed and linked together to create something more cohesive than Poltergeist is at present. As it is, coming in at almost ten minutes shy of its allotted time, it feels more like an early-stage work in progress than the finished product.
Assembly Rooms (Drawing Room) 6.25pm
6 – 30 August (not 25th)
Rich Hall: Chin Music
✭✭✭✭
If Jack Dee had been born in America he would probably have become Rich Hall. The two veteran comedians share the same dry laconic humour that can turn misery and despair at anything and anybody into comedy gold.
Hall returns to Edinburgh after a lengthy hiatus with Chin Music a show that combines his two trademarks, deadpan humour and country music songs that are a skilful blend of homage and parody.
The first half of the show is worthy of five stars as he casts a cynical eye over America while also not sparing Scotland and the rest of the UK from his contempt for some of our behaviour and for having a film industry that dishes up feelgood movies set in former mining towns every four years.
The second half drops somewhat as a string of songs in quick succession lose the focus and topicality of the set, before it is redeemed somewhat with an explanation of why he is back in Edinburgh that takes in a four-night residency at a Montana Rodeo.
With Hall’s unique talent still effective and with his UK appearances becoming less frequent in recent years, it is well worth catching him live when you can.
Gilded Balloon Teviot (Debating Hall) 7.00pm
17 -30 August (not 27th)
Gail Porter: Poltergeist
✭✭✭
Taking its name from her time on TV shows such as Dead Famous, Poltergeist sees Gail Porter trawl through her school days, her showbusiness career and her time away from the camera for a series of anecdotes that sometimes culminate in very amusing punchlines and other times fizzle out and meander into nothingness.
The stories are presented as if they are literally dropping into her thoughts as she decides to say them. There is a limited sense of any thread running through them and, added to the slightly shambolic, unprepared style of delivery she adopts, it feels more like someone speaking to old friends in a pub rather than giving a live performance to an audience of mostly strangers. The number of direct comments Porter made to friends in the front rows when she talked about their shared past only added to this feeling of intrusion on a chat at the start of a night out.
The show has some charm and there are a lot of stories in it that are funny or reflective and that could be developed and linked together to create something more cohesive than Poltergeist is at present. As it is, coming in at almost ten minutes shy of its allotted time, it feels more like an early-stage work in progress than the finished product.
Assembly Rooms (Drawing Room) 6.25pm
6 – 30 August (not 25th)
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