Fringe Friday 2024: Week Two

Week two, and we've had some incredible shows: bird quizzes, comedy, cabaret and more.

Guess The Weight of the Bird

I'm going to preface this review with a disclaimer - I am OBSESSED with birds. Like, point at and name all the birds I see, bird tattoo, bore all my friends with bird facts kind of obsessed. I also really, really love a quiz. So this review of a bird-based comedy quiz show might be slightly biassed. In the interest of fairness, I should also say that our editor won the quiz, and the highly sought-after £10. To avoid any accusation of favouritism, and to hopefully fund the continuing creation of bird-themed comedy quiz shows, she donated it back.

The premise was simple - pick an egg with a number on it out of a duck-shaped wicker basket, get a picture of the corresponding bird (with fun facts, puns, and political commentary thrown in for good measure), and guess how much it weighs. Seems easy but, as the host warned us, this was a deeply humbling experience. Anyone who managed a correct guess won a chocolate egg (I never did, but our editor was kind enough to give one of hers to me). Luckily, there was also a plain and simple bingo section, with bonus points for the host's favourite birds, and negative points for the birds he so unfairly slandered (I stand firmly against anti-magpie rhetoric).

This was more than enough to keep me entertained - I'm easy to please. What made the hour really fly by though was our resident bird quiz host, whose self-deprecating humour and larger-than-life stage presence told us we were in capable hands - or wings? He also dealt well with the rowdy crowd of two-pints-in-by-2pm-ers and the unexpected presence of multiple 4-year-olds, whose parents seemed quite forgiving of all the tit jokes. And boy can he chuck a chocolate egg across a room.

For a show with all of its eggs in one, frankly overpriced, duck-shaped basket, it’s a good thing that bird puns are a fowl-proof way to quack me up! (the quality of the puns in this review are not reflective of the quality of the show being reviewed)

Owen Baxter-Jones

Queer AF Comedy

It's always an enjoyable time going to specifically LGBTQ+ comedy nights, and Queer AF Comedy didn't fail to deliver. With a variety of comedy styles from Sam Williams, Leigh Douglas, Georgia Thorp, Dani Cooper, Leo Mahr and Aaron Twitchen, we heard weirdly accurate horoscopes, the problem of being an Irish woman travelling with a bag of potatoes, and how Devon really isn't ready for gay people.

CM Kavanagh

GODZ

GODZ is super fun with lots of impressive skills (and yes, handsome naked men).

Roxy van der Post

Alice-India: See You in Hell (a Work in Progress Show)

A fun romp through the life and times of a bisexual woman with autism (cure-curious, or cure-ious if you will), with comedy delivered rapid-form in the style of an infodump, dangerous edgy (but soft) bad girl with tattoos Alice-India explores life with an adult autism diagnosis; getting arrested, recovering from a drug addiction, and the wonders of the all-inclusive holiday. For those of us on the millennial/gen-Z cusp, Alice-India's quips touch on life in a way that makes you feel seen. Find the cure?

Her next show is on the 20th, at 7pm!

Amber Cronin

Violet's Vaudeville Vault

Violet's Vaudeville Vault is a stellar line-up of different performers every night. Both shows I saw were an absolute riot! I discovered some incredible (local) artists and it felt like a real safe environment to celebrate intersectional identities and beautiful bodies unapologetically.

Roxy van der Post

You Shall Not Yass

You Shall Not Yass was a hilarious musical queer parody of Lord of the Rings (even if you're not a fan of the franchise). This was the first time it was performed outside of London, and I already cannot wait for them to come back!

Roxy van der Post