Rob Kemp: Beatlesjuice – WIP

Can’t believe it’s that time already

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The end is nigh! Well, another twenty four hours of fizzle out. Tonight I’m off to the final ACMS though whether I’ll last until the end is debatable. I’m kinda shattered, physically and spiritually, and I haven’t written anything since Thursday.

Oh, The Elvis Dead was bloody brilliant! Plenty turned out to see it (pretty please, can we have a performance every Fringe?) and had a whale of a time. Kemp’s voice is much more suited to singing like Elvis than the Fab Four.

And I caught the final Beatlesjuice last night, so glad I bought a ticket in advance (it was a PWYC) the room was packed out (I spotted John-Luke Roberts was there). Rob Kemp‘s lyrics are so good and it’s as funny whether there’s a lamer line to fit in or an absolute gem. I look forward to how Beatlesjuice will look next year, but I’ve loved seeing these early ramshackle performances, what utter pleasure!! 💛

I’d just seen John-Luke Roberts: WIP that morning in the Monkey Barrel, another very busy show; really the man is so naturally hilarious, no one who’s seen him before would be put off by those initials W.I.P. it’s all a joy. No doubt he’ll show up at some point this evening at the ACMS.

Oo, maybe John Robertson will make an appearance tonight too! I saw him yesterday too, Playing with the Audience in the Counting House, manically gleeful as ever. It seems like having reached another of life’s milestones, he’s determined to show that he can still throw his body about and do dumb things – like climbing up onto narrow ledges, high ledges, next year it’ll be one of the chandeliers!! The picture – I know I’ve remarked how some Fringe stages are too low for anyone past the first couple of rows, but that’s a bit ridiculous!

Spot my little joke here? That’s what I thought it said on glancing through the Fringe programme without my reading glasses on! Couldn’t resist! An excellent show, Alex Berr was very engaging as she told us how she came to work in science and with mice in order to cure cancer, only to find out later her mother had the same cancer that she’d been working on. Berr balanced sombre subjects with great humour, kinda matter-of-fact but with a quirkiness.

Oops, must dash. Toodle pip!

As promised last time, and more

bruceonthefringe 2025, Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Fringe reviews, Stand-up comedy, Theatre, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Heading towards Bristo Square, I overheard two older gents behind me discussing where to go for a drink, Bristo Square?Too noisy and plastic. Teviot Row and the Library Bar? Much nicer. I did briefly consider not saying anything, no, no, come on now; so I turned round and mentioned it was closed for renovation, they thanked me and headed elsewhere to find a pint in a glass. Ah, good deed done for the day!

I was actually going to the Mosque Kitchen for a chicken bhuna and rice (rather nice!), then across to the Counting House for Stand-up Philosophy with the most genial of hosts Alex Farrow with guest stand-ups Omar Badawy and Daman Bamrah. An entertaining and interestingly informative hour.

I had already seen Alex Farrow: New Order and, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed myself (Stand-up Philosophy is like a diluted version of Farrow’s own show), as we were treated to a flowing stream of philosophical thoughts with babbles of hilarity. There’s always some cracking anecdote from Farrow’s teaching days, this one’s a real doozy! His broken vacuum cleaner story had me nodding in recognition, he is one of us. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

How happy was I to see Rob Kemp was back with a new show, Beatlesjuice? And how happy am I that he’s putting on a one-off performance of the Elvis Dead this afternoon at four thirty? Very, very happy! But Beatlesjuice, oh my heartses, it’s soooo good! Now I should clarify, this is very much a WIP (Work In Progress) but I loved it with all it’s flaws (I actually saw it last week when Kemp was still figuring a lot out, I expect by now it’s a lot smoother, but more fun? nah).

If you’ve seen The Elvis Dead, it’s a similar premis with Beetlejuice retold through Beatles music with Kemp’s lyrics and onscreen moments from the film. Kemp’s lyrics are so bang on, you’re laughing at the humour and marvelling at his genius wit at the same time. Yes, it has a way to go, but it was perfectly imperfect! Beatlesjuice had my face grinning and my soul singing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just time to mention another show, saw it last night, another bullseye for my Fringe-dar. Iago Speaks is Shakespeare Meets Meta. It has the wordplay of a Shakespeare play, wonderful comic acting and a tricksy meta-ness that kept me enthralled. The Jailer was a wonderful character, yin to Iago’s yang, and he does talk an awful lot, well, the play does start after Iago swore he’d never speak again, but like Gromit he doesn’t need words for us to know he’s thinking. Oh, Iago does eventually speak but definitely with a forked tongue. I knew how it would end, yes, the end and then the very end, but the journey there was amazing theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time for a spot of lunch, methinks. Should I cook or go out?

Toodle-oo for now!

Late night ping-pong and other things

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I was about to start typing when I buzzed by a bee, a bee very keen to hang around my writing corner. It took almost quarter of an hour of persuasive wafting to get it to leave, and now I’ve completely lost my opening, dammit. Ho hum, it was good, I came up with it whilst walking down the Pleasance towards home. One of the big posters? Don’t think so. Ermmm.

Maybe, this’ll be the year I go see A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves…16. Yes, this is the sixteenth time so the young man is not quite as young as he was, unless it’s a different young man than the one who started this nonsense, how would we know? Always one performance only, never listed in the same category two years in a row, this year it’s in Spoken Word, hahaha.

Almost a rival? I’ve spotted Stuart Laws as Michael Caine Saying Never for One Hour, it’s when Michael Caine as Alfred the butler says “never” to Batman. It’s listed under Comedy, but if it really is Laws just saying “never” for an hour, well, surely it should be in Spoken Word? Laws has two other shows, one involving puffin murder, yes it’s in my possibilities pile.

And while we’re on the weird stuff, there’s a table tennis tournament happening late-night over two Fridays, two hours each in Monkey Barrel 3. The blurb in the programme calls it iconic and that it features some of the best comedians. Hmm, best comedians doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be any good at table tennis; it will after midnight – just how sober will they be? But also, comedians can be wildly competitive. That’s Ray Badran: King of the Table if watching ping-pong is your thing.

The movies have been used and abused in Fringe shows over the years, this year’s sacrificial lamb is the John Wick franchise. The blurb says that the audience help create the most violent film ever made, so the show could depend on how psycho the crowd are, interesting. I have to admit that while I am aware of John Wick, I don’t recall seeing any of the movies, hmmm; but if you have, the show is Woody Fu: One Man John Wick.

It’s late (I paused for tea, and then a tad longer), just one more, one that I’m really looking forward to! Beetlejuice retold through songs of The Beatles, gets you Beatlesjuice, yay. It’s a WIP by Rob Kemp who previously gave us the ridiculously brilliant The Elvis Dead (along with other non-musical shows that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed). Mind, Kemp looked kinda like a young Bruce Campbell and has a cracking voice for Elvis songs, it’s like The Elvis Dead was just totally meant to be, will Beatlesjuice work as well? I’ll let you know.

G’night, sweet dreams!