Allen loves junk shops, charity shops and car boot sales for the chance to rummage around and dig out surprising objects from the past of others. This has given him a large collection of kitsch pottery, photos of unknown people, and, his first love, rubbishy LPs, and this show is his chance to share some of the funniest and weirdest stuff he's picked up.
The first half of the show is given over to the pottery and pictures, with plenty opportunity to wonder who would buy something like that, or actually choose to sit that way in front of a photographer. There's some fun to be had from this, but it's a bit hit and miss at times. I was surprised, given evidence from his previous Edinburgh show, that he didn't invent more fictional backstories to bring the objects to life. This could have been more successful than going for quicker punchlines.
Things improve greatly when full attention is put on to his record collection, especially 'party' records, with a strong reminder of just how creepy the 60s and 70s now look from a modern day perspective. There are a lot of laughs to be had from the oddity of the album covers, bizarre nature of some of the contents, and snippets of tracks with surprising lyrics. We even get to join on one of the corniest singalongs you could imagine.
Allen's amiable style make him easy to like and enjoy. For lovers of oddities from our not so distant past, and anyone looking for a reminder of how much the world has moved on in the last fifty years, this is the show for you.
Paul Harry Allen's Retro Delights is on in Finegan's Wake at 15.45 until the 29th.
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