My Fringe: Part II





I’ve got the scratchy-eyelid thing happening which has been aided by my lack of caffeine today; I rarely go a day without the frothy goodness of a cappuccino. I spent my day tasting the delights of the Gilded Balloon taking in some mind-reading, magic and theatre.

A Donkey and A Parrot

A Donkey and a Parrot is a charming one-man theatre show. Sarah Hamilton enthusiastically tells the story of her family’s survival as they try to escape religious persecution in France, attempting the treacherous clandestine journey to England. Along the way they encounter crooked boatmen, slave drivers and helpful neighbours. Through mime, finger puppetry, song and movement all atop a large and curious wooden barrel, her great ancestors’ story is played out. At times, the tale seems too dense and frenetic for one narrator as she inhabits up to sixteen characters while punctuating her monologue with comments from her current self. Expect donkey impressions, avian conversations, French children who need to pee and clichéd American slave owners. This is entertaining and fun physical theatre which insists on being unexpected and resourceful, even if it gets away from you at times.

From finger puppets to tricky fingers it was on to magic with Morgan and West Clockwork Miracles. These guys get tighter and tighter every year and their slick, stylised show is always a Fringe treat. Our loquacious Victorian duo teach us the proper etiquette of drinking tea while demonstrating some mind-reading. There are three of four tricks which are simple, snappily-presented and full of whimsy and today they certainly hit the right spot with the audience whose raucous appreciation drowned out our waistcoat-clad duo several times.

Mr Morgan and Mr West

The Magical Adventures of Pete Heat was a very different magic show. Pete is all smiles and charm and possess an absurd sense of comedy which exudes a semi-intentional sense of disorganisation. Off-the-wall humour and silliness is at the heart of this show ; there’s shuffling a loaf of bread and an affluent monocle-wearing weasel. His magical adventure features all manner of card magic and a neat trick of manipulating audience members which would have had more impact had it felt less frenetic and bitty. The closing trick involves underpants which can only be a good thing.

Doug Segal: How to Read Minds and Influence People bursts with energy and there’s a keen interest in involve the audience in his routines. With a background in advertising and psychology, Doug whisks his way through his performance to appreciative applaud. Mind-reading shows are of a certain ilk; novels and dictionaries are distributed to audience members and our host is able to pluck seemingly impossible words from their minds. This is fun and Doug relies on interaction with his crowd, keeping them intrigued. A special moment arrives when he is able to teach one volunteer how to read the minds of three other spectators.

Tomorrow… to the Underbelly.