one4review | On 18, Aug 2019

Nick Everritt’s comedy will not be for everyone, and I suspect a most of the audience were probably wondering if they had indeed observed comedy. It is my opinion (and presumably Mr Everritt’s) that they had, but I would posit that this is very niche, almost anti-comedy, and probably best suited to the connoisseur. I could imagine other comedians guffawing away in this show.

Mr Everitt’s stated aim is to subvert and deconstruct the ‘tropes and clichés of comedy’, and this results in an hour of very self-referential meta-comedy. The clearest demonstration is in his obligatory Brexit section, where he mocks the recent trend for comedians to explain Brexit using a metaphor, by comparing Brexit to a metaphor, which is extended and further explains itself…and somehow this meta-metaphor maintains logical integrity and is funny. (For some people, like me. I’m a geek). But you have to work hard to keep up, the room is stifling, and the payoff is more of a self-satisfied ‘that’s clever’ than out-and-out laughter.

The show’s delivered in a sort-of mid-Atlantic self-help-tape drawl, which gives it an air of a spoof ‘how to be a comedian’ guide. Mr Everritt never breaks character (even in the bucket speech), and this, along with the distinctive delivery, does make the show feel a wee bit relentless, and that will alienate some people. There’s a small let-up in the now-routine story-of-vulnerability section, and the teasing Icelandic thunder-clap, but there is perhaps not enough here to satisfy the average punter. But those in search of the truly alternative, look no further.

Reviewed by Laura

Just the Tonic at The Caves
16:55 (until 25th)