Concentration camps, cerebral palsy and child abuse: not perhaps suitable subject matter for a festival of the performing arts, but all three topics proved to be the major talking points of this year's Edinburgh Fringe. While controversy and the Fringe go together like cheap Scottish lager and near fatal hangovers, US comic Scott Capurro considerably upped the ante in the "fringe filth" stakes this year with a much-discussed/analysed/deconstructed piece on the Holocaust.
The punchline at the end of Capurro's routine - which resulted in up to 25 per cent audience walkouts (the Abbey was only trotting after him) was "Holocaust, schmolocaust - can't they find something else to whine about". A very evil remark, when taken out of context, which it was by the media circus, but consider the build up: Capurro, a gay Jewish comic, was, albeit ham-fistedly, trying to illustrate the point that the one million plus homosexuals who were gassed to death by the Nazis have been all but air-brushed out of Second World War history.
The other question is: as a Jew, does Capurro have the moral right to attack what Jewish author, Norman Finkelstein refers to in his recent book as the "Holocasut industry"? Is it only acceptable to raise such subjects under the rubric of "literature" and not in the rough and tumble vernacular of stand up comedy?
Consider also this joke about cerebral palsy: people with the condition, when drunk, walk in a straight line. This and other audacious material about the condition upset a few festival goers, but the person delivering the routines was Francesca Martinez, a 22-year-old with severe cerebral palsy (she has to be helped onto the stage each night). However you feel about the subject matter, Martinez is a very good comic - so much so that she carried off the £2,000 first prize in The Daily Telegraph talent search contest. "People often ask me if I'd like to be normal" said Martinez after winning the award, "I would, but I think a world full of disabled people would be a bit boring".
Elsewhere, the Church of Scotland publicly condemned US comic Rich Hall for singing a country and western style ballad about child abuse. In his defence, Hall pointed out to the church elders that he does his show in the character of a Southern US redneck and that incest is a frequent reality in the southern states in which he grew up. Rich Hall went on to win this year's Perrier award, and because he's such a huge favourite at the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, he has personally promised to bring his magnificent award-winning show to Ireland in the very near future. A word of gratitude to Richard Cook of the Cat Laughs for introducing Hall to Ireland in the first place..
The "controversy" that enveloped Capurro, Martinez and Hall, no matter how emotive this year, is far from new and far from as clear cut as was portrayed in most reports. While it is socially acceptable for Jewish comic Jackie Mason to do material about Jews, black comic Richard Pryor to do material about black people and Fr Ted, The Fitz and D'Unbelievables to do "eejit Irish" material, such routines would take on a dramatically different hue if delivered by a gentile, a white person and an English person respectively. The line has been blurred somewhat by characters like Alf Garnett and Ali G, but the question still remains: whose stereotype is it anyway?
From the ridiculous to the sublime: Ladeez and Gentlemen, I give you Puppetry Of The Penis. Harking back to the "ancient art of genital origami", this show, which stormed the Fringe this year, consisted of two men using their penises, testicles and scrotum as creative instruments (yes, you are still reading The Irish Times.) They began with a few global landmarks - their Eiffel Tower was deadly accurate but their Ayers Rock needs to be workshopped a bit more, I think. The rendering of the Loch Ness monster (which involved a lot of stretching and bending) was exceptional, as was their hamburger (I suppose a hot dog would have been too obvious) but the undisputed highlight of the show was their impression of Kentucky Fried Chicken - which really has to be seen to be believed. Priapic creativity or low-art sensationalism? Again, the choice is yours.
Can't see Puppetry of the Penis coming to the Dublin Theatre Festival though - it's far too funny, engaging and interesting, and it would probably disgrace itself by making a profit.
Penises also featured (it was that sort of year) in Adam Hill's Goody Two Shoes show. Although born in Australia, Hills is an Irish resident but can never be considered a true Irish comic - mainly because his personality is too rounded and well-balanced - ho, ho. In the course of a high-energy, very rewarding show, Hills informed us that when British television censors have to decide whether a penis is in a state of arousal (and thus not permissable to be shown) or not, they use the shape of the county of Cornwall as their guide. In Scotland, they use the Mull of Kintyre. Strange but true. The major talking point, though, of Hill's show though was his creation each night of an instant boy band, made up of members of the audience. Powerfully funny stuff. The people's choice for the Perrier award, the Auto Boosh show, failed even to get a nomination but was, for many, the best show of the 1,300 on offer on the Fringe. This comic theatre of the absurd featured Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barrett) in a "road movie" play which came complete with giant parka jackets, a TV detective with a massive leg and a butler who keeps his voice in a jar. There was also an unhealthy preponderance of flannels. Confused? Just go and see them, they're brilliant.
For it is written "He shall come from the south bearing roses in his mouth and strut a peacock hour under canvas sky. He shall speak from on high, draw all from their sties, but do not ask him why or he might get shirty. Idiots rejoice! Your King approaches, the one king, the wan king" That was the introduction to the League Against Tedium's Ubertechnokomedie show. A bizarre mix of Nietzche and Anthony Burgess, the League's hi-tech show presents a surreal, hypnotic world which is "created by a genius, performed by a freak". Irish arts festivals please sign him up now, this is just too good to miss.
Back to penises: there was a lot of "have they/haven't they" discussion about such down at The Ladyboys of Bangkok show. Long a Fringe favourite, the ladyboys are a gender conundrum: it would appear (though it's difficult to tell even from the front row) that they are pre-operative transsexuals. Not that this is some up-dating of the Victorian Freak Show turn, the Ladyboys put on a exhilarating son et lumiere act -
belting out songs to beat the band. Very slick and very professional in a West End musical sort of way, you can see and hear what all the fuss is about yourself when the Ladyboys take their show to Dublin for a three week run next month. It's lashings of fun.
A strong Irish presence on the Fringe (Ed Byrne, Ardal O'Hanlon, Graham Norton) also included: Dara O'Briain selling out his three-week run - and selling 2,500 tickets to boot; David O'Doherty making a big impression on the Perrier panel with his excellent The Story Of The Boy Who Saved Comedy show (so much so he was nominated for a Perrier best newcomer award); Owen O'Neill getting five-star reviews for his new one-man show It Was Henry Fonda's Fault; Belfast's Colin Murphy turning away hundreds from his show, and hip-hop meeting stand-up courtesy of Des Bishop and Paddy Courtney. All the above will be appearing at the Dublin Fringe Festival next month.
Meanwhile, Robert Newman (ex of Baddiel and Newman) succeeded in making global political economy systems into something very funny indeed (no mean feat), Gerry Sadowitz's scabrous routines and world-class close-up magic tricks are as blisteringly funny as ever, Bill Bailey remains a comedy god and the future of comedy (well, maybe) was discovered at the Noble and Silver show in which they made Chris Morris's Jam look like Little 'n' Large. Best described as a young Gilbert and George, Noble and Silver will be huge within the year.
Thankfully the Fringe remains mad, bad and dangerous, still as funky and egalitarian as ever. A word of warning, though: such is its strength and popularity that it is now being targeted by "celebrities" as a simply whizzo way of relaunching their tiresome careers. Last year, Richard Whitely (of Countdown fame) was up with a show, this year it was Nicholas Parsons and the Tory fund-raiser Jim Davidson was seen lurking around looking for a venue for next year.
Mainstream, it seems, is the new alternative. Pull the drawbridge up now, or we'll be looking at the Victoria Beckham Funny Hour in two years' time. They shall not pass.
