It’s only 5pm. It’s only 5pm on a Wednesday. It’s only 5pm on a Wednesday in the first week. And already the queue for Larry Dean’s fourth consecutive Edinburgh show is coiled round the block like a snake.
Though perhaps worm would be a more fitting invertebrate. For that is what he endearingly called his former boyfriend Luke, an Australian actor and vase to his flower about whom the show was supposed to celebrate – until love shed its skin prior to the run.
We’re told there’s a pot at the end of the rainbow. Sometimes it’s filled with gold. But, as Larry found out, most of the time it’s filled with the title of the show: a Batman “bam!”
But credit to him for stepping up to the mic and adopting the default position of his late, lamented dog “The artist formerly known as Prince”. Namely, “head in front of legs” and “scary eyes” scanning the horizon for incoming.
Which in his riotous riff on his “type” includes bare-chested English football supporters. The gist of which is: if you see him at a Tommy Robinson rally, don’t be surprised to hear him whisper “let’s make St. George cross”.
Hurtling through his hour-long set faster than a Catholic to confession (he’s a Celtic supporter and took great delight in ribbing Rangers fans by informing them that the Champions League is a football tournament), the closer he went to the bone the sharper his humour cut. A turn many in the audience were silenced by.
A particular highlight being a Connolly-esque flight of fancy about stress management which concluded with him wanking (“sorry, masturbating, not to alienate the women”) in a public toilet while eating an apple. Cox’s Orange Pippin, I imagine!
But towards the end, as he forewarned, it all got a bit “serious” (though perhaps “unfunny” is a more accurate description) as he veered off script to speak of his break-up and veered into the long grass of “too much information” which he had earlier poked fun at when discussing Facebook.
Thankfully, the confessional was brief and unexpectedly moving. So much so that you wanted them to get back together again and plant a single rose in a decorative vase. Alas, their love has wilted. Unlike the show which will blossom like a poppy in Tommy Robinson’s lapel.
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