'In this way I shall preserve many things that would otherwise be lost in oblivion. I shall find daily employment for myself, which will save me from indolence and help to keep off the spleen, and I shall lay up a store of entertainment for my after life.'

For James Boswell posts please follow the labels on the right.

This blog mainly contains reviews from the Edinburgh Festivals from 2008 to 2010 which I wrote for the Edinburgh Festivals Magazine. These reviews cover everything from comedy to contemporary dance; children's theatre to Handel.


Sunday, 23 October 2011

Charlie Chuck, Uncle Peter and Me Review

Charlie Chuck, Uncle Peter and Me

In jokes are, while making one feel part of a little club tuned into the same joke frequency, confound, confuse and isolate those not initiated into the group.

For a comedian as brash and confused as Charlie Chuck it’s a funny feeling to be excluded from most of the humour. I was definitely missing something…

The audience clearly loved the mixture of mentally confused aggression and meaningless catchphrases in Chuck, however, as well as his occasional punch line jokes. Sometimes these didn’t even have punch lines. Apparently half the pleasure was watching Chuck’s mind try to wrestle a joke out of his large grinning husk of a body. It’s like watching a Tommy Cooper having drunk a bottle of turpentine, playing with a 2 by 4 instead of magic and crowned with bright orange foliage where there should be a fez.

Thinking about it there probably is no Charlie Chuck comedy in-group. I was probably missing five pints of Stella or mental illness. A show definitely designed for people who recognise exactly who and what this man is about. Clearly a treat for fans.

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