EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BRENDON BURNS AND COLT CABANA, The Stand 2, August 14 2013

"Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Sit in a Fifty-Seater Around Midnight and Provide the Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches" may be the longest show title on the Fringe this year, but it certainly ensures that you know what you are getting with your ticket. Brendon Burns, Australian stand-up comic and Fringe veteran, has formed a comedy tag-team of sorts with Colt Cabana, one of the best-known independent professional wrestlers in the world.

Together, they are spending an hour each night mocking some of the very worst clips of pro-wrestling, as shown on a big screen in The Stand 2. From voodoo witchdoctors to Beetlejuice impersonators, wrestling has so many crazy and even downright offensive moments that the jokes almost write themselves. Nevertheless, Cabana and Burns make an excellent double act, getting the audience on side from the outset, and adding plenty of their own humour to the world of spandex and suplexes.

The two are ably assisted by a special guest each evening. For this performance it was Craig Campbell and, unlike other comedy guest spots where they appear only to plug their own Fringe show, Campbell had enough knowledge to throw anecdotes and jokes into the mix and certainly added to the fun of the show throughout. While the nature of the show makes it difficult to keep the same sort of momentum flowing throughout, choosing short clips of matches and segments from wrestling shows in order to cut immediately to the best moments worked well. It also left plenty of opportunity between clips for the two personalities of the show, who attracted a mixed crowd of comedy fans and wrestling devotees, to riff on the videos rather than merely commentate. This offered up some of the strongest humour of the night, with Brendon Burns' impressions of WWE owner Vince McMahon being a particular highlight.

This is undoubtedly a niche show. However, the fifty-seater of the title was packed with an audience who responded enthusiastically to top banter between funny people, even if those dragged along by partners did zone out in the middle of a non-stop stream of references to wrestling personalities they had never heard of.

Nevertheless, if you know that Mil Mascaras isn't something to be found in a make-up bag, check out this show.

Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Sit in a Fifty-Seater Around Midnight and Provide the Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches is at Stand 2 until August 24th at 2350, with a final performance on August 25th at 0040.

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