Norman Lovett’s
Slide Show
Norman Lovett
Pleasance Courtyard @ 17:00, Aug 1-27 (not 14), (1hr), £7.50 (£6.00),
£8.50 (£7.00)
*****
The
first time I saw Norman Lovett do stand-up, I was absolutely blown away.
He kept the audience in hysterics for about ten minutes without saying
a word, just playing with his microphone cable. Since then, the man
has always been very highly regarded by me. He is an absolute unrivalled
master of his craft and shockingly undervalued.
After seeing Norman Lovett’s Slide Show this year, I can confirm
that he is the finest stand-up I have ever witnessed. Officially my
favourite comedian. Brace yourself, there’s plenty more gushing
where that came from!!
Lovett’s style, like this particular show, is indefinably uncomplicated.
He’s just flicking casually through a slide show of random photos
he’s taken on his travels and commenting upon the minutiae within.
By ‘his travels’ I don’t mean to suggest that these
are holiday snaps… there’s no exotic landscapes or images
of majestic landmarks in foreign lands. No. He’s just carried
around a camera and taken pictures of things that interest, amuse, intrigue
and infuriate him. A proper camera mind you, one of those crazy ones
from olden times that expose film to light with the click of a shutter.
These are proper slides too, none of your silly powerpoint presentations,
no way. Not our Norm.
All of life is here, from televisions on the pavement to pregnant trees.
Each snap shuffles through the projector to be met by a gently satisfied
smile from Norm, pleased by the sense of sharing, each time offering
his dry sardonic musings on the photograph. It’s like spending
cherished time with your favourite funny uncle.
To try and explain or describe any more would be to over analyse the
show and quite frankly its unfathomable simplicity and brilliance should
not be dissected. Basically I got more laughs per minute than with anything
else I’ve seen, in fact I hardly stopped, there was barely a moment
I wasn’t tickled. I have rarely offered advice more emphatically…
Go see Norman Lovett’s Slide Show; it is the best thing at the
festival by far.
by Ian
Phillips
The
National Student's
2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
coverage is supported by
