Cabaret Voltaire
August 24th (not 12th) – 17:15
At the Cabaret Voltaire, the other day, they were having to turn folk away – a gaggle of phrenzy-eyed acolytes despairing desperately at the fact that today, at least, they wouldn’t be seeing Stuart McPherson. The lad’s a Fifer, & one of the three Scottish comedians who present their weekly ‘Some Laugh’ podcast, which I’ve never tuned into before, but as soon as I finish banging this review out, I’m turning straight on!
It was very joyous indeed to be one of the lucky ones who had procur’d a ticket for this brilliant, fly-on-the wall account of Stuart’s life with his missus, step-dog & their hypothetical future kids. He does touch on a few other subjects, briefly, here & there, like – but its mainly all about Stuart’s pseudo-suburban existence with his new, post-nuclear family.
“I’m buzzing Santas here – but where’s grandad,
& why is Santa getting it on with grandma?”
From the off I began to thrive & jive off Stuart’s absolute naturality of delivery, which makes you feel like you’re sipping mohitos on a beach, watching him getting a jolly on & chatting away to his mates – not bolted to a seat in the actual sex dungeon (his phrase) that serves as the Cabvol’s main arena.
As for his repartee, he’s pretty much word perfect, with timing as accurate as a Citizen Caliber 0100. Stuart also incorporates gimmicky sound effects into the show, which might have been, to some comedians, their funniest bits – but for Stuart, because he’s so bloody good at his proper comedy, these blasts of disney audios were in fact his cheapest gags.
“I just go straight away to forget password!”
Among the many highlights, Stuart’s strongest material, for me, was his splapsticky rendition of how both the Mental Health system, & Human Resources teams, were render’d essentially unnecessary, albeit briefly, in the 80s & 90s, by the cure-all squidgy ball. A very close second came the game of pool down the pub with his girlfriend – which brought out the darker competive side in both of them – especially his love of the ‘rules,’ that she hated & he respected as the pillars of gamesmanship & civilisation.
There’s a hell of a lot more to show, however, & all of it proper buzzing! I don’t wanna give too much away, only to say Stuart possesses a magnificent mind for this kind of thing, a real thoroughbred of the Thalian Courses, & I’ll definitely be seeing him live, again, some time. But now now, & for the first time, I’m gonna have a listen to that podcast (see link below).
Damo
themumble.uk 