Tuesday 9 August 2011

EDINBURGH 2011: CAROLINE MABEY

Caroline Mabey is a real one-off in what can often be a sterile stand-up environment, where a long line of comics (most of them male) exist for no other reason than to facilitate an interminable game of one-upmanship.

The quirky banter within Caroline's free 2009 offering, Go Go Go Coffee Show (a lunchtime show aimed at those who'd only just woken up) when combined with her eccentric attire (she greeted audience members in her pyjamas, offering very strong black coffee) and clever use of PowerPoint-based animation, proved an inspiration to many acts who had previously felt that such a technical show could not be achieved at a free venue. It came as no surprise, therefore, that when she returned 12 months later at a major-name Edinburgh venue with Eat Your Friends, there were many inferior copyists armed with a laptop and projector screen littered throughout the fringe programme.

Both of these shows also featured interaction with an onscreen animated sidekick, Kip the Coffeepot, and he's back again this time around in Caroline's 2011 show One-Minute Silence (Just up the Stairs @ Just the Tonic at the Caves, until August 28th, not 17th, tickets £9-10 depending on date), where she'll be attempting to break the world record for remaining silent. (A bit like David Blaine but perhaps not quite as deranged.)

More info here: http://edinburgh.justthetonic.com/performances.php?eventId=88:47

Historically, Caroline's perhaps been better known as an animator, having worked on BBC2's unforgettable Monkey Dust, designed the titles for the otherwise forgettable Little Miss Jocelyn, and - most impressively - created the video for Evan Dando’s excellent 2003 solo single Stop My Head.

Below is a short animation she did for a Cartoon Network sketch show a few years back. Expect to see more of this - and more of Caroline herself - on your tellies in the years to come.


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