Edinburgh: Day 1
I hit the ground running this Edinburgh with a Sara Pascoe/James Acaster double bill. Pascoe's "LadsLadsLads" is a more personal show than her most recent offerings, touching upon her recent breakup and the fact that she's now single for the first time in 15 years. It was a typically assured funny hour and the general message of not wanting to be defined by being in a relationship is a relatable one. I don't think her defence of incest is likely to catch on in the mainstream though.
Acaster is rotating shows at this festival as part of his "Trelogy", covering his last three Edinburgh outings. I caught the opening night performance of "Recognise", in which he starts on the show on his knees as a nod to Torvill and Dean (the figure skaters exploited a section of the rules that stated their performance only starts when their skates hit the ice). It's one of a number of peculiar but brilliant ideas in the show, where Acaster tells us of his life as an undercover cop, possibly as an allusion to real life issues. There's also an amusing nod to the three Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations he received for these shows, none of which resulted in him picking up the prize.
The best comedians have distinct stage personas and bring you into their world and Acaster certainly achieves this. To the point where you believe him when he says he drinks punch out of a bowl in the corner of his bedroom or would go through with an elaborate banana based revenge fantasy against a Pret A Manger employee. He's one of this country's finest comedic talents and everyone should go and see him.
Acaster is rotating shows at this festival as part of his "Trelogy", covering his last three Edinburgh outings. I caught the opening night performance of "Recognise", in which he starts on the show on his knees as a nod to Torvill and Dean (the figure skaters exploited a section of the rules that stated their performance only starts when their skates hit the ice). It's one of a number of peculiar but brilliant ideas in the show, where Acaster tells us of his life as an undercover cop, possibly as an allusion to real life issues. There's also an amusing nod to the three Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations he received for these shows, none of which resulted in him picking up the prize.
The best comedians have distinct stage personas and bring you into their world and Acaster certainly achieves this. To the point where you believe him when he says he drinks punch out of a bowl in the corner of his bedroom or would go through with an elaborate banana based revenge fantasy against a Pret A Manger employee. He's one of this country's finest comedic talents and everyone should go and see him.
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