Maeve Higgins
Magnus Betner
Malcolm Hardee
Mandy Knight
Mandy Muden
Marc Lucero
Marc Maron
Marc Wootton
Marcel Lucont
Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Ryan
Marek Larwood
Margaret Cho
Maria Bamford
Marian Pashley
Marie Vagen
Mark Allen
Mark Cornell
Mark Dolan
Mark Felgate
Mark Gatiss
Mark Hurst
Mark Maier
Mark Nelson
Mark Olver
Mark Restuccia
Mark Simmons
Mark Steel
Mark Stephenson
Mark Thomas
Mark Walker
Mark Watson
Markus Birdman
Marlon Davis
Martha McBrier
Martin Beaumont
Martin Bigpig Mor
Martin Coyote
Martin Davis
Martin Hill
Martin Tapley
Martine Pepper
Marty McLean
Marty Wilson
Mary Bourke
Masai Graham
Mat & Faron
Mat Ewins
Mathew Horne
Matt Blaize
Matt Dyktynski
Matt Grantham
Matt Green
Matt Hollins
Matt Kirshen
Matt Lucas
Matt Price
Matt Reed
Matt Rees
Matt Richardson
Matt Rudge
Matt Tiller
Matt Watts
Matt Welcome
Matthew Hardy
Matthew Highton
Matthew Holness
Matthew Osborn
Matthew Winning
Maureen Langan
Maureen Younger
Max Dickens
Max Dowler
Men In Coats
Men With Bananas
Meryl O'Rourke
Michael Ayers
Michael Fabbri
Michael J Dolan
Michael Legge
Michael McIntyre
Michael Mooney
Michael Redmond
Michael Smiley
Michael Tombs
Michael Winslow
Mick Ferry
Mick McGrath
Mick Miller
Mick Sergeant
Mickey Anderson
Mickey D
Mickey Hutton
Micky Flanagan
Mike Belgrave
Mike Birbiglia
Mike Gunn
Mike Landers
Mike Milligan
Mike Newall
Mike O'Donovan
Mike Wilkinson
Mike Wilmot
Mike Wozniak
Miles Crawford
Miles Jupp
Milton Jones
Miranda Hart
Miriam Elia
Miss London
Mitch Benn
Mitch Fatel
Moonfish Rhumba
Moshe Kasher
Mowten
Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer
Mundo Jazz
Maeve Higgins
Maeve Higgins & Nick Coyle: A Rare Sight |
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Well, this was disappointing – a hard lesson in what happens when awkward ‘anti-comedy’ goes badly wrong. By acting as if investing any modicum of effort or energy into their show would be some sort of artistic betrayal, the normally charming Irish comic Maeve Higgins and her Australian sidekick Nick Coyle are left with a painfully sluggish hour that their ill-thought-through material cannot hope to fill. At best it’s like some experimental acting workshop, at worst it’s like watching two slightly backwards children at play, as Coyle, for example, dresses a banana in a napkin poncho then douses it in Diet Coke, just because. And even when they do come up with a good, quirky idea – such as the sketch showing how to use flirtation in job interviews – it’s done with such reluctance that it barely feels worthy of being put in front of an audience. The concept, though only loosely adhered to, is that the pair are brother and sister giving a self-improvement presentation, despite Coyle harbouring unrequited incestuous feelings towards his sibling. He has to spell this out, however, as there’s absolutely no chemistry between them on stage as, again, showing emotion seems to be considered a sign of weakness. They have a whiteboard that they write a few things on – pointlessly, as it can’t be read even from the front rows – some chunky Eighties style headsets and a woefully amateurish attitude that they hope will see them through. What they really need, however, is some well-written material. One woman in the sparse Easter Day audience seemed to love every minute, but the rest seemed bemused, laughing politely now and then but unwilling to indulge this under-prepared mess. If surreal whimsy is your bag, then this festival has plenty of more accomplished offerings – and if it isn’t, you should give A Rare Sight an even wider berth. A shame, given the pedigree of the performers involved. |
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Date of live review: Tuesday 6th Apr, '10 | |
Review by Steve Bennett |
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Sunday 29th Aug, '10- | |
Show - Edinburgh Fringe 2007 - | |
Show - Edinburgh Fringe 2006 - | |
Show - Melbourne 2009 - |
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Maeve and Lilly Higgins: Ha Ha Yum
Edinburgh Fringe 2007
Maeve Higgins: My News
Edinburgh Fringe 2008
Maeve Higgins: Kitten Brides
Edinburgh Fringe 2010
Maeve Higgins: Personal Best
Melbourne 2009
I Can't Sleep
Melbourne 2010
Maeve Higgins & Nick Coyle: A Rare Sight
Tour
Maeve Higgins: Blabbing Away