Monday, 29 August 2022

STAND-UP COMEDY REVIEW: Richard Stott: Afterparty - Underbelly, Bistro Square (Dexter), Edinburgh


An afterparty with a difference. Instead of the usual going round to a friend's house for a few after a night on the town, and then waking up with the dawn not knowing or remembering where you are or why; this afterparty was given in the quasi-deluxe surroundings of a comedy club stage underneath one of Edinburgh's finest university buildings. 

Stott has been through a lot since I last saw him, and this has changed him, he his more disenchanted, not at one with the world and his place in it; and he takes the whole 60 minutes of his set to tell us why.

Now in his mid 30s (something which also doesn't sit well with this up-coming comedian), he takes us through some of the seminal moments of his life to date, all of which, I have been reliably informed, are true. His disability - although really he would prefer to call it a handicap - of being born with Poland Syndrome, his mental health and his panic attacks, his not achieving his ambitions and Lockdown and how both have affected him, are all dealt with simply and candidly.

His story-telling style is interspersed occasionally with the odd actual joke, and his sardonic sarcasm is well placed. His set is sharp, acute, political, angst-ridden, from the heart and very funny.  And I hope he won't mind my writing my favourite joke from his set here (one of the best from the whole Fringe actually!)....

"Before stand-up I was in an Improv Group - I didn't want to be in an Improv Group, but they simply don't take no for an answer".

A confident performer with good diction and character, with a clear through-line and a couple of really good callbacks.

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 29.8.22 

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