July. Rain. The rain. Some sun. Wimbledon. Rain. The Open Golf. Rain. And most importantly pre-Edinburgh fringe festival previews.
The Cardiff Comedy festival wisely chooses this month to spot-light familiar ( and probably more importantly) lesser known but up and coming talent as they try out their shows before they to the Scottish capital later next month.
This is the time to catch a bargain. For about the price of a solo show in Edinburgh you get to see two comedians ( tonight comediennes) performing their acts. You then get the chance to see how your reviews match those appearing North of the Border in August.
In tonight's double-bill of female funsters we first saw the award-winning Vikki Stone trying to explain what a "Hot Mess" was. We may not particularly have been any the wiser afterwards but we were impressed by the contents of her Durex hamper which was her reward for winning that award!
Showing complete confidence in her material and how to relate to an audience she revealed her love for Philip Scofield,Dragons Den and No Deal Or No Deal in a variety of hysterical set-pieces. As well as good spoken material she impressively showed that the art of the comedy song was not dead and knew the limits of rude,bawdy humour without reverting to coarseness for effect.
A Monday evening Cardiff audience wants to be entertained but will get involved if asked politely. Joining in with a love song to the theme of Jurassic Park was the perfect, if surreal, moment which summed up the evening.
The Edinburgh festival is awash with comedians. It is easy just to see people off the television ( though they don't come cheap). Much more fulfilling is picking less familiar (and more reasonably priced) names and watch their career develop. To be honest Vikki Stone was not a name I recognised when I arrived. Hopefully she will receive the acclaim she deserves in Edinburgh for this highly enjoyable and extremely funny show. If you want to be able to say you caught her first, visit Underbelly:
http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/vikki-stone-hot-mess
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