Saturday 19 August 2017

Mark Nelson : Irreverence, Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe

Nelson has achieved some fame recently through the viral videos he makes featuring his daughter and called The News at Three, a Scottish toddler's take on world events.  He was quick to point out that anyone expecting that kind of cuteness from this show was about to be disappointed.  His act is based on taking everyday events, often quite minor, and feeding them to us through the prism of his own comic, and very inventive, imagination.  As Nelson says, he takes nothing seriously and neither should we.  There's a lot based on life as a stay-at-home dad, the strange reactions of the women he encounters at mother and toddler groups, and an aspect of bring up your child you always hope you never have to deal with.  Political messages are few in number, but he makes his anti-racist stance clear enough.

There's nothing particularly revolutionary or innovative about his routine, and, despite the title, there's little in the way of shock tactics.  What he is though is very, very funny, and there's a high laughs per minute ratio.  Nelson's mind is just warped enough to create an exaggerated world that's got just enough reality for us to envisage the situations, picture the people he builds up with his words.  Great fun and well worth an hour of your time.

Mark Nelson : Irreverence is on in Gilded Balloon at 20.00 until 27 August.

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