one4review | On 13, Aug 2014

AAA stand up has always been a showcase of up and coming comics who share the hour to showcase their wares and has a very illustrious alumni. It is always work checking out as a scouting exercise to try and identify the rising stars for the future.

The packed audience in the Pleasance Cellar had Sunna Jarman and host for the night and she quickly set about her task of warming up the punters trying to get the laughter flowing and identifying people for others to come back too. The crowd were somewhat unresponsive and although she tried her best it didn’t really happen on the night.

The next comedian to take the stage was James Bran who had a gimmick or two that got laughs, he read from his Dream Diary and had some quirky material but majored on reading out comedy haikus some of which were funny but for most of us there were rather too many,

Closing out was Larry Dean who won Scottish Comedian of the Year in 2013 and it was this Glaswegian who took the gig by the scruff of its neck and breathed life into it. Dean is a self-confessed homosexual, or bender as he prefers to be known as, and much of his material was along these lines, but he has so much more in his locker too and add this a large dose of charisma, stage presence and comedy timing, surely the big time is knocking on his door… urgently.

Reviewed by Geoff

Pleasance Cellar

19.15 to 20.15

***