Puddles Pity Party: Let's Go! - EdFringe 2016

Showcasing odd-ball covers of classic songs, Puddles invites Edinburgh Fringe-goers to the strangest cabaret clown party.

Puddles Pity Party: Let's Go! - EdFringe 2016

As audience members shuffle out of the drizzly Edinburgh weather and into a purpose-built circus ring inside the redecorated, almost unrecognisable George Square Gardens, they are greeted by a sullen clown dressed in silk pyjamas and a drooping golden crown. The eponymous and unassuming Puddles casually sips from a plastic cup of coffee before launching into a 1920s-esque cabaret club version of Twenty One Pilots' Stressed Out, one of the many melancholic and droopy-faced renditions performed at his renowned Pity Party. There is no fake painted smile on the face of our host to fool us into thinking this a place for jazz hands and party poppers; there are no streamers or colourful hats, only a suitcase and a wash of blue lighting to set the appropriately melodramatic mood the show takes on. With over-the-top facial expressions and comical interactions with the audience, all that is missing from Puddles is a literal heart on his sleeve as we laugh with him through his apparent self-wallowing.

Puddles makes the stage his own and his glumness charming as he sighs and anguishes through an eclectic playlist of Queen, Adele, and the late David Bowie. Other than several grunts or groans, this sad clown has extremely gorgeous vocals, remaining untarnished and smooth whether he is crooning his obsessive affections for a cup of coffee or gliding through The Electric Light Orchestra's Telephone Line. The outstanding singer's distinctively soulful, baritone voice never fails to excite thunderous applause for his abstract covers and is a joy to watch, even when accompanied only by rather bizarre PowerPoint slideshows of cats and clips of robots falling over.

The showmanship is highly enjoyable as Puddles picks on the less enthusiastic members of the audience to help sing and dance with him, turning the show into a strange but humorous session of clown karaoke. There is always an air of uncertainty and mystery about the tent, as the turns the show takes are unpredictable; an innocent woman is dressed up like a dog, and a man is force fed a jam tartlet while the heartbroken, selectively mute clown belts out Disney's Let It Go. It's vibrant and sudden, with the audience in hysterics at the physical comedy and exaggerated mime. The chaos quickly unravels into a mess of popcorn kernels, crumbs, and loose chewing gum before Puddles packs his bag, takes his final bow, and bolts out of the tent for post-show photo opportunities.

With a host who is too sad to be sinister, despite the make-up and costume, Puddles' Pity Party: Let's Go! is an eccentric but charming show for all ages. Whilst some pop culture references and songs are perhaps beyond the knowledge of younger viewers, an invite to one of the Fringe's oddest parties should not be missed.

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Puddles Pity Party: Let's Go! is at Assembly George Square Gardens, venue 3.

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