Welcome to This Is Cabaret’s own Fringe central. Check this page regularly to keep up with the only media coverage dedicated exclusively to cabaret, burlesque and circus in the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. You can come back to this list at any time by clicking on the red Fringe coverage logo on other related pieces.
See below for listings, reviews and features.
Mat Ricardo is one of many London artists in the cabaret programme of the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Listings
Learn the essentials about the most diverse genre of performance on Earth.
● Variety Shows
Burlesque, cabaret, circus, magic and comedy, all in one bill. Choose your revue and watch the finest vaudevillians at the Fringe take turns to entertain you.
● Cabaret Shows
A round-up of solo shows, double acts and other musical comedy treats full of attitude and cheeky humour.
● Circus Shows
Big-top fun with international acrobats, jugglers, freaks and other human wonders performing incredible physical stunts.
Reviews
● Club Noir Burlesque: The Games
Billing itself as “the world’s biggest burlesque club”, the Glasgow revue’s one-off Olympic-themed show was little more than a bloated amateur night.
● Dusty Limits: Post-Mortem
The deviant crooner’s latest solo show shoots in many directions, but suits its morbid theme with defiant humour and moving songs.
● The Tom Collins Free Variety Hour
Acrobats Tom Balmont and Abi Collins prove it is possible to put on a great circus show in the back room of a pub.
● Triskaidekaphilia
Named after a fetish for the number 13, Vendetta Vain’s horror-themed Fringe revue played for one night only.
● Lady Sings It Better
Singing songs exclusively written by men, the Australian feminist sextet puts on a baffling, disconnected show.
● Bordello Blues
Nikki Nouveau’s droning mélange of cabaret and drama stars another chalky-voiced Piaf wannabe moaning obvious classics.
● Mr. B’s Chap-Hop Hoorah!
The Gentleman Rhymer returns to the Fringe with new songs to reconnect hip hop with proper manners.
● Tumble Circus: This Is What We Do for a Living
The acclaimed acrobat duo mixes drama and circus in a behind-the-scenes examination of their partnership.
● Lady Carol Must Die
Contrary to its comedy-cabaret billing, Lady Carol’s haunting covers and childhood abuse stories are no laughing matter.
● The Jewbadour
Leeds crooner Daniel Cainer revisits his biographical songs in an instigating storytelling journey loaded with humour and feeling.
● The Magic Faraway Cabaret
Dave the Bear, Claire Benjamin, Mister Meredith and guests perform in improvised mythical settings like “Banarnia” and “Popeye-dol”.
● The Curious Couple from Coney
Coney Island veterans Donny Vomit and Heather Holliday star in daredevil sideshow stunts.
● La Clique Royale
The newest incarnation of the international vaudeville phenomenon is a mesmerising concoction of breathtaking circus stunts and sly comedy.
● Jonny Woo: Wonder Woo-Man
Brilliantly crafted original songs and hilarious drag characters fill Jonny Woo’s new autobiographical solo Fringe show.
● Midnight Kabarett
Frequented by the finest British vaudevillians both onstage and in the audience, Itsy’s casual late-night showcase may be a free event, but feels like a VIP affair.
● It’s Not Easy Being Yellow
Ria Lina’s outrageous ditties make a good fit for a full-length show, but the aimless verbiage of the spoken material siphons the fun out of it.
● The Lady Boys of Bangkok: Carnival Queens
Crashing through normal standards of decorum, The Lady Boys of Bangkok’s newest song-and-dance revue brilliantly shocks its fans without actually offending them.
● Auntie Myra’s Fun Show
When Myra DuBois tries her hand at children’s parties, what follows are half-baked magic tricks and callous sneers guaranteed to turn infants into full-fledged benefit claimants.
● Comic Strip
The Australian hit showcase attracts strong burlesque and comedy guest acts, but a small bill and a large venue make an unfortunate combination.
● The Bongo Club Cabaret
Stale stunts and drab attempts at comedy give Edinburgh’s pioneering variety showcase little but its laurels to recommend it.
● Rubies in the Attic
Close harmony quartet The Ruby Dolls investigate their immigrant roots with real-life stories told through song, dance, drama and puppetry.
● Fascinating Aïda: Cheap Flights
Named after the 2010 viral hit music video, the musical comedy trio’s popular show returns for a second Fringe run.
● Alternative Sex Education
Queer collective Lashings of Ginger Beer Time uses musical satire and spoken word as a vehicle for their inclusive discourse of political protest.
● Chaz Royal’s Sexy Circus Sideshow
Reinvented as a month-long engagement for its Fringe debut, the all-star showcase struggles with the new format in a haphazard hour of vaudevillian dares.
● Lady Rizo
The New York diva brings an invigorating set of comic insolence and vibrant tunes to the Bosco tent at Assembly George Square.
● EastEnd Cabaret
Debauched divas Bernadette Byrne and Victor Victoria preceded their latest Fringe foray with a limited run at the Priceless London Wonderground festival.
● Waiting for Stanley
There’s more than burlesque in Audacity Chutzpah’s bag of tricks, as seen in this moving wartime clown drama.
● Up and Over It
Judging from the Irish dance duo’s Wonderground show, their Fringe run will be packed with swift moves and gags.
● Briefs
Boylesque, drag and circus come together in the Australian troupe’s feel-good hit show.
● Rime
Circus company Square Peg fears no albatrosses in their physical theatre take on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Features
● Fringe Interview: Edward Reid
The musical comic talks to Franco Milazzo about the Fringe, Britain’s Got Talent and that plagiarism bruhaha involving Frisky and Mannish.
● The Vivisection of Variety
Where is cabaret going? What makes it tick? Join the debate in Bring Me the Head of Variety Entertainment, a series of daily talks with variety performers.
● Cabaret and Beyond at C Nova
Housed in the grade-listed India Buildings, C Venues’ newest space features site-specific performance, workshops and a cabaret room.
● All Eyes on the Uke of Edinburgh
Tricity Vogue interviews the hopefuls and returning winners of Ukulele Cabaret‘s fiercely disputed award.
● Mat Ricardo’s Edinburgh Diary: Vaudeville DNA
The gentleman juggler chronicles the painstaking discipline behind the creation of new show Vaudeville Schmuck.
● Mat Ricardo’s Edinburgh Diary: Drowning in Flop Sweat
Time is not on Ricardo’s side. Will he finish his show in time for his Edinburgh run?
● Say Hello to…the Ruby Dolls
Get to know the ladies in the acclaimed Weimarian close-harmony group.
● Myra DuBois’ Top Tips for Surviving the Edinburgh Fringe
Auntie Myra has just the trick to get through the cobblestone flyering hell.
● The Poster Art of Ukulele Cabaret
Whether as a monthly London show or a star-studded Fringe variety showcase, Tricity Vogue’s ukefest does what it says on its illustrated tin.
● The True Stories of Waiting for Stanley
Leela Bunce (AKA Audacity Chutzpah) remembers the most emotional reactions by spectators at her multimedia clown experiment.
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