My first compilation showcase of the Fringe (by no means the last). These showcases are really good platforms to see snippets of performers you might not be considering. There are usually a number of them kicking off around lunchtime throughout the Fringe so it's a good way of starting the day and also becoming aware of new acts who are doing full shows - certainly a recommended way to do things if you're new to the Fringe.
There were five comics on the bill today - the first and compère was Gordon Southern. A genial comic with good banter and a good rapport with the audience. I think I'd heard the name before but couldn't be sure - looking up Wikipedia he seems to have been around for a while. He was good enough to make me want to check out his full show, which I guess is the point.
Mark Simmons was next, a very droll one-liner style comic. I found him pretty funny with some laugh-out-loud gags - silly stuff mostly but done very well with excellent timing. He assured us that these jokes were all from the previous year's show and none would be repeated in his current show - a line that most of the comics in this line-up were assuring us with.
Stephen Carlin followed - he was pretty good. His solo show is called "Rise Of The Autistic" which is enough to make me almost want to go and see him. He did a number of good jokes, including a routine about coming-out to his Scottish parents as a non-drinker - it would have been easier to come out as gay. I did think his abbreviated routine faltered a little, as if he just lost the place slightly, but he pulled it back. A good set.
Eshaan Akbar was the next comic on. I hadn't heard of him but he immediately won me over with an early line, "Yeah, I was a Muslim but them I discovered bacon and alcohol ..." His background is interesting, he came across very well, was on the tubby side (which he mentioned) so I felt connected to him - yeah, good comic. Will try and check out his show.
Last man up was probably the best of the bunch - Irish comic Neil Delamere. He launched into a very funny and energetic set, starting with "Hello everyone! I've just flown in from Europe ... Dublin" and going from there. Very good little set - there was a chap from Northern Ireland sitting next to me in the front so he spent a little time going through the difference between a Northern and a Southern Irish accent (the latter being good for soothing, reassuring speech, the former being good for ordering evacuations of planes). He was very funny.
With a final wind-up from the host the show concluded. A decent selection of comics, all pretty unknown to me. Shame it was an all-male line-up but I guess that can happen. I will certainly look out for at least one or two of these guys. As I said at the start, a best-of showcase is a good way to start a long Fringe day ...
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