Fringe review: THE LISTIES: MAKE SOME NOISE, Assembly George Square Studios
One of the joys of a Fringe visit is that you can see work that you otherwise would not book for and so we dipped our critical pen into the children's genre, even though my youngest is 27!
The amiable duo from Australia, Rich and Matt, let us know from the start that The Listies: Make Some Noise is a show aimed at children and old people and throughout, they delight both with their mad cap style and inventive high energy delivery.
They know what works for their target audiences so the show is littered with burp, fart, and bum crack gags. They also make music a part of the entertainment too and it is these elements that work best as they involve the audience in each routine. The Air Guitar song is silly and fun and after a witty PowerPoint in Rich's musical corner, they have great fun with young kids naming instruments they play and delivering quick witted responses . The audience participation song playing a squeaky crab, a triangle and four kids burping in harmony is mad but fun. When a baby in the audience heckled Rich, you knew it was working for all ages!
The best element of the show is a hilarious routine with Matt as a baby in a cot, crying for his i-pad, which is executed with great skill and the behaviours resonate with the parents more than the kids. They would grace any UK pantomime with their business!
The test of this sort of show are the faces of the younger members of the audience and the venue was filled with happy smiling faces throughout. Occasionally, the mums responded more enthusiastically than their charges but we were left in no doubt that everyone enjoyed this bonkers children's entertainment .
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne