We're Gonna Bugger You
Show type: Edinburgh Fringe 2002
With only one hour to save Blackpool Tower, WonderHorse, notorious bunny girls of the Apocalypse, take you on a roller-coaster ride of vaudeville and on to witness the depravity behind the glittering facade of showbiz.
Comedians
Reviews
Original Review:
You can't fault the exuberance of these lively Northern lasses.
Bounding on stage with their bunny hats - though looking more dog-eared than rabbit-eared by week three - they launch into an energetically shambolic song and dance affair.
It's tacky end-of-the-pier stuff, and let's face it, the show's title hardly suggests a level of erudite sophistication, but there's certainly fun to be had revelling in the tackiness of it all.
The duo create a maelstrom of manic activity, dashing around the stage, brandishing stupid props and launching into unaccompanied song-and-dance numbers, which are sadly let down by their simplistic content.
It turns out, though, that this is only a set-up for the rest of the show, which revolves around the surreal off-stage lives of the desperate double act.
Yet they never shed their OTT costumes, and continue to combine brash cabaret style with melancholy themes. It's all a bit disconcerting - but does manage to be funny from time-to-time, despite being all over the place.
In the occasional lulls in their bluster, there's evidence that there's something more to this than the amateurish enthusiasm that sees them through. And at least they are trying something unusual, even if the end product doesn't match the ambition.
The lack of polish is part of their charm, but some structure and a consistent feel might make audiences feel more secure in accepting the more whimsical ideas professed.
I'd like to hope this pair harness their talents and go on to better things - and when they do, this will probably be the sort of fringe debut they will look back on with a degree of 'I can't believe we did that' embarrassment.
Wonderhorse may not be champion yet, but they may be worth a long-odds punt for the future.
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Older Comments
Lilac Bonzai - 25/08/2002
I risked it for a biscuit amd was damn glad I did, They were worriying and stupifyigly funny at the same time, I felt like I'd got stuck in a train with 40 eplieptic nuns and a broken bottle of poppers. They frightened me while making me laugh. If you like being made to feel like your sanity is not worth keeping, go see them, and if you don't come out smiling then they've probally killed you and made you into a pie. Ten out of ten for effort, the material (like the ears) can be slightly floppy, but, hey, when it's this full-on, who cares? Good luck Wonderhorse may you fly like an arrow through the sky of comedy. An utterly refreshing and challenging show.
Hutch - 16/08/2002
This show has to be one of the Fringe's unknown-as-yet gems.The shambolic but hilarious cabaret act that starts the show is perfectly complemented by the dark and surreal second half that demonstrates what it must be like to be part of a double act. This is a show to be seen by all those with an interest in new,dark comedy. The writing varies from brilliant to bearable but no one can doubt the enthusiasm the girls put into the performance, even when I saw the show for a second time and they were clearly hungover. All this and a free badge too!