The programme promises: How to use magic mushrooms to your advantage in a pub league; to show art that tackles anti-Semitic cows and to explain why fried eggs don't talk back. It certainly delivers on this, but does not deliver any comedy to accompany the facts.

The three comedians, each performing 20 minutes, are affable enough, smiling through their sets and attempting to engage with the audience. However, the packed room seldom raises more than a titter in the entire hour.

Simon Lilley relates tales about Polish builders and an apparent obsession with sheep. He gets many members of the audience to imitate sheep from different parts of the world, which they kindly do. At this point it looks as though things are about to pick up, but with a lack of funny to follow, the room soon stalls. His best lines are about the misuse of the word necessary, and misunderstandings in (the UK supermarket chain) Asda. He tries to engage the room, firing every question he can think of, but has no follow-up with jokes. He has a confident, likeable manner and is easy to listen to, but there is a shortage of punch -lines.

Graham Morinan's set contains many jokes relating to his lack of height, but are deficient in their delivery. His nonsense poem fails to lift the mood, and his best material is his cat cartoons, which deserve bigger laughs than they get. His other art-related humour, where he draws an audience member's pet, and the racist cow cartoons, do not have the same quality. He ploughs on through his material with cheery good-humour but puts his own nail in the coffin by declaring to the audience just before the end 'I don't know what I'm doing'.

Graham Foster starts more promisingly with a quip about Jesus, and then begins a series of stories. The stories are too long, and by the end any attempt at a punch-line is lost along the way. His material covers smoking, drugs and magic mushrooms - this joke has potential if worked on. His funniest joke is about the nerves he feels when performing, and a line about Tourette's syndrome and voice-activated bombs is witty. His attempt at a magic-related pun fails, and by the end there is a sense that he's relieved it's all over.

Cast Credits: (performers, alpha order): Graham Forster. Simon Lilley. Gareth Morinan.

Company Credits: Writer / Director - individual performer. Technical Operator - uncredited. Producer - uncredited. Company - Graham Foster / Gareth Morinan / PBH's Free Fringe.

END

(c) Helen Johnson 2008

reviewed Friday 8 August 08 / The Standing Order, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com