Stage: Send in the clowns

London Clown Festival 2025
hosts Dan Lees and Neil Frost, aka The Establishment
with Sarah Woolfenden, Tom Penn, Julie Nesher, Josh Glanc, Lil Wenker, Rob Duncan, Paulina Lenoir, Patricia Langa
Soho Theatre, Jackson's Lane and other venues • 16.Jun-4.Jul.25 ★★★

This year's London Clown Festival, an annual event that previews shows that will be playing the Edinburgh Fringe, kicked off with a rather uneven two-hour cabaret that unfolded in typically riotous style at Soho Theatre's Upstairs space. The evening was hosted by the Establishment (Dan Lees and Neil Frost), adept goofballs who continually ask the audience if we think the show has started yet. Their rolling improv is properly nutty, as they decide on songs to sing, impersonations to perform, news headlines to read, games to play and audience members to play with.

The first act is Sarah Woolfenden, painted and dressed in white as she surreally wanders around the stage urging the audience to embrace the clown within. She then takes her place in the house band, alongside Lees, Tom Penn and Julie Nesher. Their music has a wonderfully bouncy rhythm to it, and Sarah provides all manner of noises, whistles and horns. They accompany most of the acts that follow, including Josh Glanc, who charges through his hilariously awkward material, singing a series of very similar songs while taking on audience members who challenge him. This makes his set feel somewhat tense, as if it is spiralling out of control, but his scrappy charm keeps us on his side.

Up next is the baddest man in Texas (Lil Wenker), a strutting Wild West drag king with a Groucho moustache and cigar, plus spoons on their ankles. With a flirtatious and very silly attitude, he uses his growly voice to get audience members to repeat key phrases that then play out in an epic story. It's utterly ridiculous, and very funny. And now it's Rob Duncan, who triumphantly introduces himself as having been crowned Printer of the Year, then launches into an absurd demonstration of performance printing. This involves two portable printers that spew out pages that feed into his punchlines, just like magic! Indeed, he even prints a rabbit from his hat.

Emerging on his own, the band's bassist Penn takes the stage dressed as a chef wearing a set of red curtains (complete with the rod), singing and dancing, before his manager-wife Nesher emerges perched on his back to take over the show. Their goofy act is packed with riotous sight gags as they dive into one random joke after another. 

And finally we have Conchita and Lola, or Conchola, freaky flamenco-style black widows played by Paulina Lenoir and Patricia Langa. They speak in eerie unison, perhaps the least improvisational act of the night, as they recount the epic saga of their witchy lives and deaths. Their hyper-dramatic performance is hugely amusing, as they stare down the audience and perform their nutty choreography.

All of these acts and many more are performing in the festival. For info, see LONDON CLOWN FESTIVAL >

See also: notes from the 2024 CABARET > 

Soho Theatre, 16.Jun.25

Fringe: Josh Glanc - Michelle Brasier - Two Hearts

And here's my final roundup of reviews from Fringe 2024. It was a lively and very busy week, with 23 terrific shows and far better weather than expected. Some have asked how I choose shows to see out of nearly 4,000 in the programme: because it's so overwhelming, I ask a press officer to work out my schedule. This means that I never quite know what I'm about to see. And it's been a fun mix of stand-up, comedy, drama, music, circus and clowning.  And then it's back to movies, with Critical Week below...

Josh Glanc: Family Man
Monkey Barrel 1 • Fringe 2024 ★★★★

Overflowing with goofy charm, Josh Glanc bounds onto the stage in a crop-top and begins singing an earnest song about being reminded of the beautiful day when he met his wife, as she gave him a breathalyser test. His act is a spiralling flurry of music and crowd work, peppered with jokes that are hilariously absurd, continually catching us aback with their clever observations and nutty perspectives. Each extended gag is underscored with a musical track, to the extent that if he presses the wrong button, the show takes off in a direction that's unexpected even to him.

He also continually repeats musical numbers with amusing variations. For example, each time he decides to restart the show and launches into his opening number, the circumstances around meeting his wife are dramatically different. Meanwhile, he deploys puppy-dog expressions and playful accents expertly, most notably when switching back and forth between old and young versions of himself. Everything is blissfuly bonkers as he searches the crowd for fellow silly billies, cheeky monkeys and, well, sluts, which leads into an explosion of evangelistic zeal.

While the jokes feel like they are coming in at random, there's still a wonderful flow to the show, a kind of deranged internal logic that finds underlying resonance. Bits involving threatening letters, lanyards and Domino pizza deals spin in riotously messy directions, as does a moment when he gets a bit overeager to take photographs of three hot, up-for-it guys from the front row. Best of all, Glanc peppers the show with personal anecdotes, relatable details that offer a glimpse into his soul. So it's a joy to get caught up in his escalating mayhem.

details: JOSH GLANC  • 13.Aug.24

Michelle Brasier: Legacy
with Tim Lancaster
Gilded Balloon Patter House, Downstairs • Fringe 2024 ★★★★★

Even when a show spins wildly out of control, Michelle Brasier is one of the funniest comedians working today, completely owning the stage with her larger-than-life personality, lightning-quick wit and monster talent. As in her 2023 Fringe show https://shadowsontheweb.blogspot.com/2023/08/fringe-michelle-brasier-monet-x-change.html, she takes the audience on a hugely entertaining journey through an extended story that spins off down various sideroads while also tapping into some surprisingly meaningful themes. Not that she ever appears to be taking this seriously.

At the centre of this show, Brasier is imagining the versions of herself that she could have been if she made different decisions over the course of her life. This is sparked when she discovers another Michelle Brazier (with a z) in Melbourne and tries to sort out a misunderstanding while travelling to America for a comedy festival and dealing with an excruciating and very personal physical issue (which she describes in outrageous detail). She also realises that she would like to leave some sort of legacy to a little girl, even though she doesn't want a child of her own.

As before, Brasier is joined on-stage by partner Tim Lancaster, who plays guitar and expertly voices other characters in her stories (including himself). Meanwhile, her punchines are flying so quickly that many are lost in her exuberance, which makes the entire show panic-strikingly funny. She also has a belting singing voice, and her songs are both amusing and knowing, most notably a power ballad about being a proud millennial until a new generation came along ("What about Y2K?" she laments). With each frantic narrative layer, she pulls us in deeper, leading to a gorgeous payoff.

details: MICHELLE BRASIER  • 13.Aug.24

Two Hearts: Til Death Do Us Hearts
with Laura Daniel, Joseph Moore
Pleasance Courtyard, Two • Fringe 2024 ★★★★

From New Zealand, pop duo Two Hearts (aka Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore) arrive on-stage still celebrating their marrweddingiage a few months ago back home, singing about how fabulous the big event was. They've even repurposed the decorations to create the set for this show. And they note that nothing about their lives has actually changed since they got married. What follows is a cleverly constructed journey into their relationship, which is sweet, silly and just a little bit dark, all accompanied by boisterous songs and comedy antics. This is a full-on party of a show.

With huge smiles and seemingly boundless energy, their earnest joy begins to reveal flickers of other emotions along the way. A kiss-cam roves joyfully through the audience until Joseph spots someone kissing Laura (full disclosure: it was me) and explodes with jealousy. Their sharp banter continually adds offbeat angles on their relationship, with razor-sharp throwaway gags and a series of properly banging tunes, choreographed to perfection. All of this moves at a blinding pace that keeps them (and us) slightly out of breath. And we never have a clue what's coming next.

Laura and Joseph speak about how they fell in love while performing the only love song they've ever sung together, creating a problem with HR ("I'm HR," Laura chirps). And they use other songs to travel through their past eras, including Laura's under-dressed winter club nights and Joseph saving money by avoiding the dentist. Another number triumphs their valiant efforts around climate change ("Dolphins, you're welcome"), although they can't resist a holiday in another country, especially one with a good war museum. These songs are almost criminally catchy. But it's their messy affection for each other that really wins us over.

details: TWO HEARTS  • 13.Aug.24

For info, EDINBURGH FRINGE >

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C R I T I C A L  W E E K

Because I spent most of this week in Edinburgh, I saw very few films this week. The big screening was the UK gala presentation of Alien: Romulus, attended by director Fede Alvarez and stars Cailee Spaeny, Archie Renaux and Spike Fearn. The film is fantastic on an Imax screen, wonderfully suspenseful and freaky. The silly action comedy Jackpot is a frenzy of hilariously nutty mayhem starring Awkwafina, John Cena and Simu Liu. And the documentary Apollo Thirteen: Survival is a stunningly immersive archival narrative of the harrowing 1970 moon mission that's definitely worth seeing on a big screen. And I'm still watching FrightFest movies. This coming week, I'm starting a two-month job that will require very long days, so I won't be attending many screenings for awhile. But I'll catch what I can.