Russell
Howard
Adventures
Russell Howard
Pleasance Courtyard @ 21:20, Aug 1-27 (not 14), (1hr), £11.50
(£10.00), £12.50 (£11.00)
*****
If
Russell Howard didn’t have a room full of people to talk at every
day, he’d probably explode. Once he’s on a roll and into
his flow, I get the impression that if he was suddenly stopped during
his act it would be rather distressing for him. When they built Russell
Howard, they forgot to fit him with brakes… or for that matter,
an attention span!
His manic energy fills the room the instant this show begins, and it’s
yet another erratic blast from the incredibly excitable and decidedly
child-like ADHD comedian. The audience needs to keep their wits about
them as he rattles through his set, if you don’t remain alert
you may get left behind as he has a habit of racing on ahead to his
next theme with little or no warning. Everything is capable of distracting
this man, even the arrival of a fly momentarily passing through his
space puts his material on the back-burner for a short while as he examines
and interprets the insect’s flight path and behaviour.
His tales are full of personal experiences, random observations and
embarrassments. Quite frankly, you’ve got to feel pretty sorry
for his brother, not least because Russell used to shove marbles up
his bottom, but also because he has now taken to telling rooms full
of people about it. You should probably also feel quite sorry for the
person who stole Russell’s laptop only to discover the drunken
self-portraits that were put on there when he was trying to be erotic
for his girlfriend. Anything that happens to Howard doesn’t just
exist in the real world, it continues to live a life of its own within
his warped imagination leading off in bizarre tangential directions.
This happens so much that sometimes its difficult to ascertain what
actually happened and which bits Howard would’ve quite liked to
have happened even if just for his own amusement.
Shifting momentarily into the voices of a sophisticated gent or a cheeky
yet malevolent west-country schoolboy his speech is frequently littered
with unexpected intellectual and cultural references. Whilst it’s
so easy to pigeon hole him as childish, he’s equally as likely
to blurt out something random about scientific theory as he is to suddenly
shout ‘expelliarmus’ with a gleeful expression.
An evening with Russell Howard is an adventure indeed. The only problem
with this year’s show is that he should have been put in a bigger
room.
by
Ian Phillips
The
National Student's
2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
coverage is supported by
