Russell
Kane -
Easy Cliche and
Tired Stereotype
Russel Kane
Pleasance Courtyard @ 21:50, Aug 1-27 (not 14 or 22), (1hr), £8.50
(£7.00), £9.50 (£8.00)
****
Fresh
from pulling off one of those meanest of feats, impressing and satisfying
the Big Brother fan forum nutcases during his week long stint as Big
Brother’s Big Mouth host, Kane arrives in Edinburgh to perform
at the Pleasance Courtyard’s ‘Beside’ venue…
A glorified portakabin performance space that’s begging for air-con.
And once again he’s made a tough job look easy and pulled it off
with aplomb.
He has
a cheerily deranged method of behaviour in performance, constantly pulling
expressions and jerking into contortions as he paces about. He moves
like a demented marionette, flitting back and forth, arching his back,
swelling his chest, sticking out his bum, and perhaps unintentionally…
on this occasion also smuggling peanuts!! That’s possibly due
to his insistence on breaking boundaries (and keeping cool) by doing
a gig with the door open – what a revolutionary!
He is
teetering on the edge of being infuriatingly idiotic, but somehow manages
to remain firmly filed within the ‘loveable’ section of
the comedy classifications library. He’s also, despite his dangerously
‘madcap’ mannerisms, unexpectedly intelligent, often dropping
intellectual bombshells into his vocal stampede.
Another
surprise thrown into the mix is that Kane actually performs a set specifically
based around the title of his show – funny that – but honestly
a bit of a rarity amongst many comedians at the Fringe. Tossing around
clichés and stereotypes, Kane explores a wide range of truths
and misconceptions (mostly misconceptions), bouncing gently and affectionately
off the origins of audience members.
Mixing
up the format a bit, his stand-up is interspersed with short tidy sketches,
accompanied by Sadie Hasler, which make for a delightful dollop of icing
on this very tasty cake. Kane is an affable fool destined for greatness,
or at least further telly and radio work, just as long as he can continue
to hold his behaviour on the good side of goofy.
by
Ian Phillips
The
National Student's
2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
coverage is supported by
