I stumbled across Alex Kitson’s first appearance at the Fringe by chance three years ago.
Back then, he was jumpy and not every joke landed, but he did make me chuckle a lot, and I stuck with him.
Last year was better and this year’s show is a case of the man from Devon coming of age.
He still has that nervous energy, but it is now channelled far better. He is like a West Country Ben Elton with the energy of the late, great Rick Myall (he plays with his flowing locks on stage as he used to) and has the observational joke-telling ability of Michael McIntyre without being irritating.
On the night I saw him at a sold-out show (clearly, positive word of mouth is driving Fringe-goers his way), he was in cracking form. He is the sort of performer you could see in a “Whose Line Is It Anyway” type format as he is lightning fast in his thought process.
He hits the ground running, and nothing is off limits and that includes his yoga teaching mum.
Even the unusual circular Yurt venue he is playing, which was “rejected by Unicef” which is why it ended up as a Fringe venue is used as a source of humour. So is the exit sign, but let’s not give away too much of that clever part of his routine.
Kitson controls the room from the off, and you can see him moving on to bigger venues than the big Yurt, which is part of the Hoots venue group at Potterow.
Indeed his manic energy and stage presence would have fitted well into the BBC comedy showcase show Live at the Apollo if it hadn’t just become a victim of budget cuts after 22 years.
The best MacIntyre-style observational comedy that hits home was the routine over the need for his mum- and let’s face it, everybody’s mother- to put off the “big light” and instead put on lamps all over the room.
There was a hilarious routine about being booked to play a comedy gig in a rugby club that was also hosting a wake and a clever vignette about a life coach selling himself short by charging less than the minimum wage for his services.
What would have endeared him to folk over a certain age- there was all ages in the audience which shows his broad appeal- was suggesting reading the variety of stories in print newspapers (remember them?) could be the panacea for today’s social media obsessed society.
Kitson also has the guts to take his act into areas others haven’t such as park runs. Do people just go on them to keep fit or are they the new dating agency for those who don’t want to join dating agencies?
The Great Gatsby gets a mention but he doesn’t rate it as highly as his favourite book from childhood.
At the end he signs off with as much energy as he started which is remarkable.
The best comic I have seen on the Fringe so far and although I am not one of those reviewers who give out five-star reviews like confetti to comedians I have no hesitation in doing it this time.
