Nina Conti- Whose Face Is It Anyway
McEwan Hall Underbelly Bristo Square
Reviewer: Mark Ritchie
Five Stars
This performance was 25-minutes late going up, as Ms Conti informed us in a fast and flustered fashion, due to some unspecified technical difficulties. At Edinburgh of course, with shows coming in later, this throws huge spanners all over the works.
The huge and magnificent McEwan Hall was full to the brim and in most areas of the auditorium the laughs came thick and fast. For those of us banished on a first come- first served basis, to the edge of the hall, the sound quality was barely audible, which resulted not in laughter, but craned necks, strained ears and puzzled looks from those around me.
Having got all that off my chest, what of Nina Conti? This ventriloquist who originated the face-mask comedy, involving audience members as her willing puppets/dummies, was blessed with enthusiastic volunteers. Those coaxed on-stage were so brilliant at body language that someone sitting close to me even suggested they had been planted in the audience. All of which is untrue I am quite sure.
Nina Conti her monkey and her volunteers create great fun and copious whooping and hollering from comedy fans. It would be great if the powers that be could find her a suitable vehicle for UK telly.
I will certainly go and see her again and hopefully next time I will also be able to hear here. My press ticket was free of course, but had I paid, I would certainly be asking for a refund!
