Mark
Olver –
Happy Accidentally
Mark Olver
Pleasance Courtyard @ 20:25 5th – 28th (not 15th, @13:30 on 26th)
£8.50 (£7.00), £9.50 (£8.00)
****
A few interesting facts about Mark Olver: he’s
the warm up man for Deal or No Deal and is slightly confused
by his burgeoning relationship with Noel Edmonds, he used to be a careers
advisor and is reasonably proud of his vocational advisory talents,
he doesn’t drink booze despite persuasion, he has an obsession
with seeing celebrity cocks and one of his ears is substantially bigger
than the other and is intriguingly flappable – he’s open
about it and will let you have a play with it if you ask nicely.
He seems content in front of an audience although deceptively, like
an overgrown Linus hugs either his microphone or a Diet Coke bottle
through most of his act as though they offer him some comforting security
and reassurance. Unlike so many rapacious stand-up comedians he plods
through his hour in this small cellar venue at a gentle pace.
While his comedy seems equally reliant upon the lives and behaviour
of his audience as that of himself, you are not left with a feeling
that he might pounce upon you and ridicule you at any moment. His humour
skirts around common abrasive techniques in a tender fashion and while
he certainly will make use of opportunities given to him through his
interaction with the crowd he comes across as a moderate soul. In fact
when he did an impression of a baby in its cot, I suddenly realised
what it was about him that seemed so familiar.
He’s admits to not being an Edinburgh regular, perhaps his aspirations
are growing of late. But he is a strong comedy talent and uses his own
personality and experiences to great effect, happily highlighting his
own embarrassment before provoking it in his guests.
His dedication to the form can be measured by the tale of when he painfully
dislocated a limb whilst performing on stage, as neither himself nor
his audience could easily be removed; he continued his routine (occasionally
passing out) whilst awaiting the ambulance’s arrival.
A fine comfortable stand-up that you have no need to fear.
by Ian Phillips
