one4review | On 15, Aug 2019

Steve is a ‘standard man’, he is disconcertingly average and he wants to learn comedy. Alice is a comedian who is bad at relationships but good at turning it into material. This show follows their meeting and Alice’s efforts in preparing Steve for his debut. It’s interesting when you’ve seen five comedy shows a day to top it off with a dissection of what’s funny and what are the building blocks of comedy. The issue in this piece is the presumption of what’s funny, and that the stand up within the show doesn’t really land. However as a piece of theatre it’s great, watching the process of Steve’s unravelling is engaging and moving. Wadell and Milburn have managed to write the ‘standard man’ with complexity, tenderness and vulnerability, in comparison however Alice feels
a little underwritten. Both Elly Condron and Daniel Cech-Lucas give strong performances and have palpable chemistry. There was a small audience for this late show and it really didn’t matter, the accomplished performers turned it into an amazingly intimate experience. This show deserves a bigger audience and is a great way to cap off a day in Edinburgh. Trigger warning; This show does contain graphic content related to suicide.

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Reviewed by Sarah

Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker One

23.00 (1hr) Until 25th