one4review | On 18, Aug 2013

****

Well into his gig, Ian Smith revealed he lives in a flat with three mates where practical jokes often feature in their daily lives. Being in his mid-20’s, this form of life style does result in a brand of humour which is distinctly laddish. However, he is self-deprecating, ironic and easy going in his approach and thus anecdotes to medical problems in the orifice area of the human body are very funny without getting the feeling he is going in that direction merely to get a cheap laugh.

Having the title ‘Anything’ does mean he can roam around various subjects which are unrelated, such as coping with embarrassing situations to memories of his schooldays back in Goole.

He is also a sharp observer of his audience. On the packed out night I saw him in the intimate venue (meaning small, tightly crammed together and hot!) which is Pleasance That, he very quickly picked up on any odd behaviour which occurred anywhere in the room and effectively ran with it.

He closed with a video which kind of tied together some of his stories. A solid hour of deft, well-executed comedy though the content did lack a deeper, biting edge.

Reviewed by Ben

Pleasance Courtyard; 33

31July to 25 August 2013 (not 12)

17.45 – 18.45

Fringe Programme Page Number: 100