THE SKINNY ★★★★ REVIEW OF TWONKEYS KINGDOM BY BERNARD O'LEARY. PUBLISHED 04 AUGUST 2012 Half-dragon, half-witch, all accountant, Twonky returns to the Fringe as ruler of her own kingdom. Don't worry if you missed the previous installments, Twonkey's Cottage and Twonkey's Castle. Even if you had seen them, you'd still be confused. Twonkey herself only takes up a small part of the show before Vickers moves on to more pressing matters: the horrifying untold story of Humpty Dumpty's orphaned children; Lon Chaney's favourite flowers; and the results of last week's pub quiz. At one point we're all taken away on a ship sailed by the Queen of Ireland. It's quite lovely. This is not the hipster surrealism of The Mighty Boosh. With his charm, catchy tunes, music hall sensibility and a steadfast refusal to make any kind of sense, Vickers seems to be the natural successor to Frank Sidebottom. Like the sadly-departed Sidebottom, Vickers will cause immense frustration in those boring people who insist on understanding everything. So don't be one of those people. Just sit back and surrender to the stream of conciousness. Let it carry you away to a happy, magical place, a place where Twonkey is king and she is a kind ruler.

THE SCOTSMAN ★★★★ :Music review: Paul Vickers, Nest Of Knickers Published on Sunday 5 August 2012 00:00 Vickers serves up another generous helping of crazy, rendering reference points redundant now that his own surreal world is becoming freakily familiar. Paul Vickers Nest Of Knickers Simple Bounty (available online and at the show) **** We are in the lap of Twonkey, and his bizarre imaginings of gothic icons (Lon Chaney), vegetable hybrids (Morph Rooms) and, of course, the Nest Of Knickers of the title. There are characters of which Oliver Postgate might be proud, the inventor Botch Battersea for example, the creator of Jennifer’s Robot Arm.

There are tunes that might make LMFAO grin knowingly, such as the infuriatingly catchy Goat Girl and Sheep Woods, and banter which crackles with the invention and innuendo of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in their pomp. It is absurdist and mischievous, constructing improbable scenarios involving Castrol GTX, and reaches back into the past to reclaim Vickers’ days as a John Peel favourite. That was with Dawn Of The Replicants, and the massively infectious Yabba Yabba makes you wonder why pop success evaded them. The tormented Magic Invisible Song may serve as a reminder why. Little matter now, as Vickers is turning out magnificently warped albums on an annual basis. You can catch him performing during the Edinburgh Fringe (at The Hive at 3pm most days, until 26 August). Your Edinburgh experience will be all the richer and weirder for it. Colin Somerville Download this: Yabba Yabba, Jennifer’s Robot Arm.

Twonkey's Kingdom TWONKEYS KINGDOM ★★★★ IN THE BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE Paul Vickers Alternative Fringe @ The Hive From 03 August 2012 to 26 August 2012 Review by Seth Ewin A polished performance with a strong narrative and slick transitions into beautifully choreographed song and dance numbers this is not. Paul Vickers is certainly a comedian but not of the hip, fresh-faced, trying-to-prove-themselves variety. Vickers is from a different, less hectic, time, perhaps even a different, less hectic, planet. Despite his Harpo Marx on heroin appearance and at times spaced out gaze, Vickers is very with it. He spouts endless eloquent nonsense, comparable to Edward Lear or Lewis Carroll, though there are plenty of modern references. The small cavern is very much Vickers's kingdom, with his collection of strange props assembled around him. Most of them disturbing creatures probably picked up from one of Edinburgh's many weird antique shops. All the more disturbing when he starts to introduce them. The show has a very hand made feel, with Vickers doing everthing, even fiddling with the music player for his songs. These songs are sung in exactly the same relaxed manner as the rest of his material and contain equally imaginative language. It is short and shambolic, quintessentially fringe; honest, silly and enjoyable for what it is............ITS A FOUR STARS HAT TRICK FOR TWONKEYS KINGDOM DO WE GET TO KEEP THE BALL!!