Here are the latest reviews of Morecambe Fringe Festival acts

Playhouse Presents: Alan Williamson & Rowland CrowlandFirst on this double bill is a first timer to the fringe and in only his second public performance (the first being the night before at Morecambe fringes opening ) is Alan Williamson part of the local make your own fringe show course run by fringe director Matt Panesh, Alans weaves a comedic blend of hammers, cats, funerals and death metal to great effect, he engaged the audience well and although understandably a few nerves showed through this was a great start to my afternoon.

A very supportive 4/5 stars

Substituting at the very last minute due to illness (he was attending the previous fringe show!) Rowland Crowland self-styled Goblin poet threw together a funny fantastical sharp and punchy poetry set he may have wished he had brought a bigger book of poem with him but the audience was engaged and entertained throughout poems interspersed with Rowlands great introductions and musings a first class last minute bonus to the fringe4/5 StarsChristian Ainscough

One -liner blokes comedy show – Kevin O'Brien with Fil MiltonWhen someone, introduced before their set, is stated to know exactly how many jokes are in their set and it's over 100 - it’s a bold claim but after watching Kevin O'brien, I believe it!What followed was an hour of Kevin delivering a sure slick onslaught on clever one liners strung together effortlessly sandwiched between the equally polished pun based humour of Fil Lipton. Some comedy sets give you time to breath not these gentlemen they kept the jokes coming to great effect4/5Christian Ainscough

Playhouse Presents: June Metcalfe & Steve LongstaffeAlumni of Make your own Fringe Show, workshops run by Matt Panesh to help develop local acts, this double bill starts with June Metcalfe's self-penned monologue about a widow's choice to marry again and the consequences that ensue , without giving any plot points away what follows is a funny gripping tale with plenty of humour delivered with great skill by June. Stylistically it's very much in the Alan Bennet's Talking Heads vein, she draws you in and keeps you throughout the tale. The writing is sharp and coupled with the fantastic performance delivers a wonderfully entertaining piece.4/5

Steve Longstaffe knows his Shakespeare that’s for sure. Nowhere other than fringe would you get a show like this - Steve presents some of Shakespeare's greatest speeches with flair, introducing them with obvious knowledge of the subject matter and afterwards asks us to give him three items to weave into a new version of that same speech. A lot of difficult things look simple on paper but this dramatic high wire act is amazing to witness - one to watch if you get a chance as every show will be unique !4/5Christian Ainscough

Anthony Briscoe bursts onto the stage with a great deal of energy. From the outset, he's a very engaging presence, and you wonder why anyone would claim that he was anything else, but someone apparently did, as he's used a negative comment as the jumping off point for this show. So, I suppose, we should be grateful to that unnamed critic, as this was a very enjoyable piece, in which Briscoe's poetry flows in and out of his banter with the audience. It's not lacking in invention, either, managing to marry such disparate ideas as Edgar Allan Poe and the Teletubbies, and still feeling like it makes sense! 4/5 stars.

by Corin Rhys Jones

Renfield/Corin Rhys Jones

A bit dark and scary for me. Having said that I was engrossed in this captivating performance.

Simple staging and effective lighting gave a sense of time and space lending weight to the characters portrayed.

If you're into horror and blood you're going to love this. it's a great script brilliantly performed.

A must-see for all Dracula fans but definitely not for the faint of heart.

5/5

Heather Connolly