Laughing Horse Archives - North West End UK

2 Muslim 2 Furious 2: Go Halal or Go Home – Laughing Horse @ Bar 50

24Aug

By Ross MackieNo Comments

Scotland

2 Muslim 2 Furious 2: Go Halal or Go Home – Laughing Horse @ Bar 50

As the free sticker at the end of the show claimed, “First I was afraid, now I’m Islamified.” I wasn’t afraid but I was curious as what to expect and was pleasantly surprised, also glad I managed to take in this gem of a show. It was a Halal feast of comedy. The Garden room at Bar 50 is a tight squeeze and has a basic set up but the comedy duo used the space as best they could. They fulfilled roles as ticket sales, ushers, tech and performers, which is all part of the fringe experience. Once they started the surroundings were unimportant. What followed was clever and beautifully written insight. "2 Muslim 2 Furious 2: Go Halal or Go Home" explores the nuances of Muslim identity, culture, and experiences. The show's title itself, being a clever play on words, referencing the...

100% Scouse Comedy – Laughing Horse@West Nic Records

8Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

100% Scouse Comedy – Laughing Horse@West Nic Records

For something so foul-mouthed and filthy, this has to be described as a breath of fresh air. Not for the faint-hearted, it’s unhinged, off the hook, unmanaged and uncensored. Never the same two nights running. And just the right side of offensive. Depending on one’s perspective, obvs. Probably the only show to survive a wrong - Hitler-related - turn. It’s a bit like stumbling into the Late & Live of yesteryear, except it’s only 8.30pm. Kyle Legacy and Dean Coughlin are our hosts and anyone who’s followed the goings-on at Liverpool’s Hot Water Club these last few years will be familiar with these two already. From the get-in to some jumping hip-hop, feelgood reigns supreme and these lads don’t allow things to flag. The language is industrial but with a scouse accent it’s almos...

Twonkey’s Zipwire to Zanzibar – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

6Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Twonkey’s Zipwire to Zanzibar – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

Whether it’s a night train to Liechtenstein or basket weaving in Peru, you can guarantee a Twonkey show will have little or nothing to do with the topic in the title. So, this proceeds with scant reference to Zipwires or Zanzibar and tonight doesn’t even feature Twonkey – he’s dead! A tin of contaminated condensed milk… no struggle… probably in the library, without Colonel Mustard as a witness. Fear not, his widow, Twonketta—replete with hair-bows, heels, painted nails and pop socks—is here to guide us through the labyrinthine ‘structure’ of the annual experience. Google synonyms for ‘strange’, ‘surreal’, or ‘weird’ and you still won’t find words to describe this. Upon departure, one’s head is full of ‘incidents’, just not necessarily in the right order. There was a song containing ...

Richard Cobb: Running Joke – Laughing Horse @ Raging Bull

9Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

Richard Cobb: Running Joke – Laughing Horse @ Raging Bull

Richard Cobb’s Running Joke is an entertaining hour of stand-up comedy, perfect for passing the time in the early evening. Performing in an intimate venue, Cobb’s natural delivery creates a friendly atmosphere almost akin to a chat at the pub. The show centres around various challenges Cobb had to overcome before he faced the challenge from which the show derives its name: running the Edinburgh marathon. It’s a relatable premise, allowing the audience to empathise with his journey and feel present in the stories he told. This isn’t an absurdist, existentialist or political stand-up. Rather, Cobb derives humour from real situations that happen to real people (mostly himself). He was perhaps a little nervous at the beginning and spoke very fast as a result. Unfortunately, this meant ...

Twonkey’s Basket Weaving In Peru – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

4Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Twonkey’s Basket Weaving In Peru – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

What would happen if an achingly cool cocktail bar in the vicinity of Edinburgh’s Public Triangle made available a small function room for Mark E Smith and Don Van Vliet? (Difficult to predict, the results probably tricky to discern, but definitely must-see.) There’s a wealth of strange stuff going on in obscure rooms each August in Scotland’s capital, but nothing rivals a Twonkey adventure for surreality, disjointedness and a plethora of badly-behaved, home-made puppets and malfunctioning props. Chief of which tonight relentlessly fidgets atop Twonkey’s head before being discarded just past the halfway mark. By which stage the audience have surrendered to the wonderful chaos of The Maradona Song, The Unborn Spider, Chris Hutchison (hurrah!), The (dreaded) Ship’s Wheel, accounts of ...

1 Cent Comedy presents: Black Widows – Laughing Horse

2Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

1 Cent Comedy presents: Black Widows – Laughing Horse

Black Widows is a comedy show that is not afraid to explore the darker areas of comedy, the stuff that not all comedians would dare to joke about. With a line-up of female only comedians without a filter in a very small room, straight men must enter at their own peril. Leading the show is our host Moni Zhang who is joined by an ever-changing line up of female comedians. Moni herself is the perfect comedic host: to the point, charming and with a good no nonsense attitude. Her jokes are fast, direct and she’s very good at singling out her prey without making them too uncomfortable. Her support for her fellow artists shines through which really helps the space to feel less like a group of strangers stuffed into a karaoke room and more like a group of friends sharing a laugh together. ...

Ay Up, It’s Stand-Up: Paddy Young and Adam Flood – Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters

31Aug

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Ay Up, It’s Stand-Up: Paddy Young and Adam Flood – Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters

When your Fringe comedy show partner in crime goes AWOL in extenuating circumstances, there’s only one thing for it, keep that show on the road come hell or high water. Poor Paddy Young delivers that blow with comic flourish and the audience isn’t to upset when he promises not one but two stand-in stand-ups. Keeping to the theme of Northern comics, Tom Little is the perfect tonic. With only about 15 minutes to keep us entertained, he dives straight into some cracking observational humour, remarking ‘there’s no time to connect it’ as he dives from his fear of a watermelon-based diet to the absolute audacity of dolphins. The humour is clever and strikes an amusing surrealist approach thanks to the time constrictions. Little is brilliantly witty, and it’s a shame that the audience me...