Reviewed by Paul Treasure
A Fringe Festival is a marvellous beast, full of all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures. Comedy, in all its guises, has been a feature of Fringes from the very first Edinburgh Fringe. Probably because the Arts Festivals that Fringes surround have historically tended to be very serious affairs indeed. It can be very tempting, in the pursuit of a good laugh, to go for the lowest common denominator and centre your comedy around the easy targets like booze or sex, now let’s not be puritanical, we all know that boozy or raunchy comedy is brilliant when done well, but it is refreshing to see someone try something else.
This year Holland St Productions has given us a revival of their comedy revue cabaret What Doesn’t Kill You (Blah Blah) Stronger, and it is a refreshing change. The revue is clever, it is witty, it is educational in a Horrible Histories kind of way, and above all, it treats the audience like we are intelligent, which, by and large, we all actually are.
The revue retells, in glorious song, a number of real-life tales of people with extraordinary tales of survival. Some of them are famous, others not as well known but equally interesting. The creators and performers, Tyler Jacob Jones and Erin Hutchinson have totally understood the brief and have pitched the songs and performances with perfection, taking absolutely nothing seriously but treating their subjects with humanity and empathy. We are always laughing at the ridiculousness of the situations, but we are rarely if ever, laughing at the persons themselves.
The show opens with a brilliant send-up of Opening Numbers that defies description and then heads straight into our first tale, that of Alexander Selkirk, whose marooning was the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe. This number is a good indication of where the show is headed, as Tyler takes on the role of Selkirk, while Erin takes on one of the numerous feral cats that Selkirk domesticated during his ordeal. Of the half dozen odd stories, highlights include a short operetta about the survivor of a toilet explosion and her fear of flushing, which despite the scatological subject matter is gracefully handled, with Erin giving brilliant classical vocalisation to the tummy grumblings of a person trying to hold everything in. There is a short musical about Ann Hodges, the first documented person to survive being struck by a meteorite. Erin plays the pitiable Ann with forbearance, while Tyler plays all the other characters, with hilarious rapid changes between them all. But this reviewer’s favourite number comes right at the end, where they drag a volunteer out of the audience to play multiple shipwreck survivor Violet Jessop.
The songs are all clever and varied, covering a range of styles from operetta through to calypso, accompanist Joe Louis Robinson manages to keep a tight rein on the music as the madness takes place in front of him. Special mention must also go to the young lady who was sitting directly in front of me during the performance, she was thoroughly enjoying the show up to the point where they called for a volunteer from the audience. There was a moment or two where no one volunteered and then she tentatively put up her hand. And this reviewer is so glad she did. Reading off cue cards to play the role of Violet Jessop, this young lady played the role totally deadpan, which just added to the humour. Her delivery of the line “Fuck!” as Violet realises that she’s about to be in yet another shipwreck was the perfect blend of exasperation and resignation that just topped off this number. It is of great credit to the creators that this song works equally well with people who know the story of Violet Jessop and know what’s coming up, and those who don’t know the story, for whom each relentless twist of fate is a hilarious surprise.
Performing at the Pleasure Garden in The Parlour, one of the smaller venues in the precinct, pays off well for this show. While they are limited to the number of patrons, the venue is intimate and suits the show well, featuring just the two performers, an accompanist, a couple of boxes and the obligatory coat rack with various costume elements. This is a delightful and very clever show, and it is wonderful that Holland St has decided to revive it. If you are headed into The Pleasure Garden at all this week, head in early and catch this little gem.
Reviewer Note: Paul has worked with members of this production company previously. Tickets for this review were provided by the theatre company.
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