Jacob Nussey, Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★
Write about what you know, comics are told, and in Primed – his Fringe debut – Jacob Nussey does just that. He describes to great comic effect what it was like in the three years he worked in an Amazon warehouse.
It’s not as bad as everyone thinks, he says, but his descriptions suggest otherwise, delivered though they are with a generous dollop of gags and smart observations.
He paints a vivid picture of his time there, of his colleagues and how they enacted their revenge for the boredom and dead end nature of the work. Although, he says, the mood was often lightened by some of the products they were despatching – fist butter, anyone?
Along the way he weaves in some subtle comments about the zero-hours economy, working-class aspiration and making his debut at the ultra middle-class Fringe – where “most comedians have never had a sandwich that wasn’t a triangle”.
Nussey’s delivery is deadpan, but there’s warmth in his exchanges with the audience. This is a very strong debut hour and well worth catching.
Phil Green, Banshee Labyrinth ★★★
Phil Green is on a mission in A Broken Man's Guide to Fixing Others: he’s working to save all middle-aged men from a midlife crisis. It’s a tall order, but he’s the man for the job because a) he’s been there himself and b) he was once the youngest Chief Scout in the South East.
He also wants to save the wider population from seeing Mamils – middle-aged men in Lycra – as they tuck their bits into overly tight shorts when they take up cycling, or Ironman, Tough Mudder, or any number of strenuous pursuits after their wives divorce them for reasons they don't understand.
In this faux lecture/TED talk, the comic does some very good crowd work, and the running gag about his Scout history is nicely worked throughout the hour.
Green briefly reflects on why middle-aged men might be in crisis, and he sensitively handles the very real issue of men’s mental health and suicide.
He mostly manages to sustain the show's core theme over the hour, although there's a section about dog-walking that feels shoehorned in. But overall this is a fun show and Green is an affable host.
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