Three Stars

***

Reviewed 8th August

The date I saw the show is significant because I have seen comedians deal with late comers, drunks and idiots who think their humour is better than the act but never “heckled by laughter” – Josh Howie’s own words. Throughout his performance, he had to deal with, as we the audience had to endure, 2 guys in different parts of the room who laughed at around 3 decibels greater than the normal laughter level, and at the wrong times. He did have the funny put downs but, nevertheless, they were a pain with one of them directly behind me.

Now on to Josh Howie. He has a relaxed, convivial manner which belies a razor sharp brain. There were a couple of themes running through his act – his rating as a ‘Dick’ and moral conundrums. Three members of the audience were selected to give scores out of ten as to his ‘Dickness’ in relation to certain situations in which he could have chosen different strategies.

The stories he told were punctuated with digressions and one liners, some worked instantly, some not so well. His final story of being in a gym and dealing with an awkward dilemma had so many digressions, I thought he had departed from the original situation but he did round it off with a clever punch line.

Reviewed by Ben

The Stand Comedy Club V, Picardy Place: 8a

3 to 28 August 2011 (not 15)

18.20 to 19.20

Fringe Programme Page Number: 102