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The lady herself came out and thanked us for our support at the end. This was a little jarring, because it was the first time that she’d spoken to us all night, creating a curious sense of distance throughout. That’s not to say that she needed to get into a conversation, but for the most part, there hadn’t been much degree of connect between performer and audience, despite some admittedly spectacular moments involving aerial acts and fire-eating, alongside some ‘shocking’ elements (our quotation marks). The audience did have a good time, however, and it’s good to see the wonderful Dusty Limits serving as host.
Freerange, 21 May
3/5
Andrew Allen

A volcanic ash cloud may have prevented anti-folk supergroup, The Bundles from coming together in Brighton tonight, but it failed to perturb the exuberant Jeffrey Lewis. In honour of his stranded song-writing partner, Kimya Dawson, he waxed lyrical about the pros and cons of the supergroup, even bashing out a delightful cover of the Travelling Willbury’s ’End Of The Line’. It was his brother Jack, however, who was left with the impossible task of recreating Kimya’s idiosyncratic vocal blend of biting cynicism and casual allure. Ultimately, he fell short and, despite exhibiting lyrical wit and lo-fi charm, this incarnation of The Bundles failed to erupt.
Komedia, 20 May
3/5
Tom Spooner

An extremely likeable bunch. There were great moments, including a sketch in which a woman insisted her husband accept her as a fish, while a funeral director investigated the number of ‘surplus dead people’ in his village. But the show needed more energy and pace to lift it from a group of cheerful people having fun to a professional performance. They would benefit from some stagecraft (speaking louder, no backs to the audience). The final game was introduced as ‘The Boring Game’ and was not adequately explained, which presented the performers with an uphill struggle. And yet… I came away liking this friendly group. This was their third ever gig, and they clearly have potential. I’d be interested to see how far they’ve come by next year’s Fringe.
Latest Musicbar, 20 May
2/5
Bonnie Graham

I loved this laugh-out-loud razmatazz show. Five multi-talented performers – fast, witty, topical and surreal. Highlights were the very visual date rape of Clegg by loverman David Cameron, the teacher who killed his pupil singing ‘Psycho Teacher’, or the granny who married her grandson doing ‘Baby Love’. Mark Brailsford and Jason Deplanque were brilliant, especially as The Miliband Brothers. Heather Urquhart and Liz Peters, one blonde one brunette, looked and sang as good as the Abba girls, plus they were fantastic comediennes. Joe Samuel was the one-man orchestra which sums this show up. A few perfomers but a few million laughs.
The Old Courtroom, 20 May (until 22 May)
5/5
Bill Smith