Press

This is Nottingham review of WILA

Festival acts raise a smile
Tuesday, July 12, 2011

THE end of the pier summer season does not feature in the diary of a comedian any more; instead, they head to the Edinburgh Fringe for a month or more.

It's the most important platform to showcase their new work, so the set needs to be honed to perfection.


As a result each comedian will give it a run through at clubs across the country, providing rehearsal time for them and a cheap night out for us.

Just The Tonic has a season billed as Edinburgh Previews and on Sunday, it was the turn of both Robin Ince and Richard Herring.

Ince was at great pains to point out that his show, Pointless Anger Righteous Ire, was a work in progress and that we should lower our expectations. That said, it was an entertaining set by a skilled comedian, although his performance was nervous (perhaps part of the act), and relied on reading from notes.

Herring didn't suffer any such nerves, immediately admonishing us for closing down The Tales of Robin Hood, before launching into a set that covered love, sex and relationships.

He gave a far more confident performance than Ince, and masterfully combined comedy and pathos with a lovely routine about his grandmother covered in glitter.