Edinburgh Fringe 2024
NewsRevue
Canal Cafe Theatre/Emma Taylor
Genre: Comedy, Political, Satire
Venue: Underbelly George Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
NewsRevue pricks the bubbles of politicians and celebrities alike. It’s known by its legion of Fringe fans for skewering the more ridiculous elements of society with the unforgiving linguistic brilliance of its parodied songs and satirical sketches. This non-stop, fast-paced, show covers anything and everything that’s been in the news in recent memory. And, this year, that’s quite a lot.
Review
Multi award-winning NewsRevue returns to Edinburgh in its 45th Guinness World record-breaking year to mock politicians and celebrities alike through parodied songs and satirical sketches. It’s known by its legion of Fringe fans for delivering observational sketches that skewer the more ridiculous elements of society with unforgiving linguistic brilliance.
Arguably the last twelve months has seen a tsunami of foot in mouth activity from almost anyone with claims to be a celebrity or who has featured on the world political stage, resulting in enough material for a show that could have outlasted a Wagnerian opera.
With the Underbelly pushing the boat out and staging the show in their aircraft hanger of a venue on George Square, the sizeable Sunday audience was treated to an hour long masterclass of fast-paced comedy that hit the mark, hard and often.
The format remains as refreshingly simple as ever – take two boys, two girls, a musical director and a large team of writers, throw them together for a short time and create thirty or more quick-fire pieces of topical humour and a bunch of one-liners based on literally anything that has been in the news over the last twelve months, or before if you can still get a cheap laugh out of it.
This year’s fresh, energetic and tightly choregraphed quartet hit the ground running with a broadside “celebrating” the end of fourteen years of Tory rule. Judging by the immediate whoops of approval and applause from the audience, the cast were onto something of a winner. However, to be fair, they provided political balance by having a go at pretty much all those in the new Parliament at Westminster, including a particularly satirical take on the Greens, who apparently think they now hold the balance of power having won a staggering total of four seats.
Nigel Farage is, of course, a walking piece of satire, almost to the point that he is unsatirisable, if such a word/concept exists. He was superbly captured here though, complete with flat cap and pint glass in hand – full of beer, too, which he waved around the place with great enthusiasm yet never spilled a drop.
Highlights included the two doddery Scottish ladies delighting in their having helped to torpedo the SNP by voting for that nice…….now what was his name? Wore a red tie and didn’t seem to have an opinion on anything. Then there was a dig at what used to be the NHS and the emergency response system – “call 999 to be told your 106th in line” was a couplet that was worryingly true to life.
We took at trip to the Antiques Road Show where Fiona Bruce was asked to value an object that had been lying idle for fourteen years and didn’t appear to be much use for anything. I’ll leave you to work out what it was and what it was worth. And a very convincing Greta Thunberg parodied “Walking In The Air” with some cleverly worked lyrics.
But they saved the best until last – a medley of Abba songs parodied the plethora of recent elections, the creeping polarisation of politics and the need to do more to protect the model of democracy that has served the more liberal parts of Europe and America for the past century or more. Funny, but with a message.
It’s like watching an extended episode of Have I Got News For You set to music as the quartet bounced from sketch to sketch with breath-taking speed. Staging is tight, choreography crisp, lights go to black after each sketch and, no more than two or three seconds later, inch-perfect spotting comes up to reveal the actors changed and ready to go again. Using a black base for their costumes, they add simple effects like hats, ties, some ludicrous wigs and scarves.
Special credit, as ever, is due to the overworked pianist who got through an entire hour’s performance that must have involved around thirty sketches and any number of short segues with nothing much more than a running order for company – musical genius. Mind you, he was the musical director.
This slick and very professional show leaves no reputation unshredded. Highly recommended for all lovers of satire and high-energy entertainment.
