Friday 25 January 2019

Aidan Goatley : Happy Britain, Dundee Rep Theatre

Aidan Goatley was having a shit week.  Britain was (is) having a shit couple of years.  But, for reasons he'll happily explain to you, Mr G reckons there's happiness out there and decided he should find out what makes people happy.  So he came up with  plan.

He'd visit the geographical centre of all of the UK's 105 counties and ask the first person he met there what made them happy.  Plus a few other questions suggested by friends, some of which involves sampling a lot of curry.

This show will tell you how that bright idea is working out.  He's already visited a lot of those counties, he's posed a lot of questions to random strangers, and he's getting enough material for this to become two shows (part 2 will come in 2020).  And if next year's can build on this it will be a belter, because this is already a very funny show.

Those who've seen Aidan before will know he's one of the gentler comedians on the circuit, sharp of observation but kind in intent.  His tales of these happiness-seeking travels range from heartwarming to genuinely baffling, but always with laughs and humanity.  It's a fine demonstration of how varied and random we are as a species, and that joy comes in many forms, just like toasties and mid-life crises.

I look forward to see how the show will have developed when it hits the Fringe in August, but it's already well worth seeking out.  Check Goatley's Facebook page for future dates and locations.

And I too hope that our hero makes it back to Sparkford Services  to find out how Bob's got on with the ladies after he smelled burning.  But we'll have to wait for Part 2 to learn that.

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