Edinburgh Fringe: Chris Ramsey/ Thom Tuck | reviews, news & interviews
Edinburgh Fringe: Chris Ramsey/ Thom Tuck
Edinburgh Fringe: Chris Ramsey/ Thom Tuck
Great storytelling and Disney lost in love
Chris Ramsey, Pleasance Courtyard ****
It's easy to see why the Edinburgh Comedy Awards panel shortlisted South Shields comic Chris Ramsey. He's personable, very funny, has a well-constructed show - and is destined for a big television career any day soon.
The show is called Offermation – information given without asking, particularly that which is of no use to you – and was prompted by the use of the word by one stylishly dressed sales assistant to another as they discussed their forthcoming evening on the town. They ignored shopper Ramsey because “good customer service doesn't go with this look” and he has fashioned an hour out of round-robin Christmas letters a distant relative started sending his mum.
It's an old trope, but Ramsey breathes new life into it, and weaves a thoroughly entertaining story reading the letters and going off into anecdotes from his life. There is one weak spot – a story about sending a complaint letter to Sky, which takes too long to tell and which ends in a disappointingly weak pay-off – but overall this is a laugh-filled hour with an absolutely tremendous ending. Until 28 August
Thom Tuck, Pleasance Dome ***
Thom Tuck is another of the Victorian spoof theatre threesome The Penny Dreadfuls doing a solo show at the Fringe this year. Initially Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD appears less personal than his colleague Humphrey Ker's show, as it concerns the 54 Disney titles – trust him, he's an expert – that have gone straight to DVD. But as he describes some of the films (thankfully not all of them or this would be a very long hour indeed) and throws in some nerdy facts and witty observations, he melds in tales about his disastrous love life, of those women he has loved but who didn't love him back.
He has an ear for a great line (“Thom Tuck is my real name, not a minor surgical procedure”) and is a warm onstage presence, although his presentational style – deeply ironic, with lots of eye widening, eyebrows raised and sidelong looks at the audience – gets repetitive after a while.
The pay-off to the hour, without the very necessary explanation of the ring on Tuck's left hand, is really not what I was expecting, and in the absence of even a passing reference to what looks suspiciously like a wedding ring just sounds creepy - and is a fatally downbeat ending to a comedy gig. The concept is a good one, but this show definitely needs more work. Until 29 August
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Add comment