Pun after pun it might be, but this is a carefully crafted set, full of callbacks and with a clear structure to it. The jokes range from the disarmingly simple, the sort you feel you could have written yourself but in reality never could, to the low key smart ones, which slip in so that only those paying close attention will get them. There's a fair bit of visual comedy too, with Francis proving to be a master of the rubber face and illustrative gesture, and sound effects that build themselves into the overall development of the hour. He provides alternative punchlines, surreal contradictions and groan inducing audacity in his wording and choice of subject matter.
It's played for laughs, pure and simple. There's a great anti-Trump joke, my favourite of the night, which got a big round of applause (once people caught on to his drift...), but mostly it's plain daftness, jokes for the sake of the joke. There is a brief foray into storytelling, but he swiftly returns to his forte, the one liner. That's not to say that what Francis doesn't isn't clever - his mastery of the format is evident - but you won't leave pondering any of life's big questions. However if your measure of comedy success is laughs per minute then Stewart Francis is a front runner. I was aching by the end of the hour, in the best possible way.
Recommended.
Stewart Francis : Into the Punset is in the Assembly Rooms until 25 August
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