2010 Edinburgh Fringe
Mark Allen review
As the audience file into the venue, Allen casually completes a crossword, throwing out clues for the rest of us to give a hand with. We get about halfway through, before everyone is in; sadly, I never will know the answer to 7 down.
The show concentrates on the ridiculous pace of life, and how Allen tried to counteract this by organising his own 'Go Slow' - actively cutting himself off from anything and everything designed as a convenience, including mobile phones, the internet and even cash machines (which, we discover, lead him to form a touching relationship with a bank clerk named Asif).
There are some genuinely funny routines throughout the course of the show, including the correlation between speed of life and amount of energy drink that needs to be consumed. And some inspired one liners (easily the funniest relating to the 90's fad of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner). There's also material that's to be expected from a comic who has lived in, or in fact ever been to London; 'isn't everyone always miserable and don't they all rush around everywhere' style, but he manages to make it work within the context of his show, if it is a liittle old hat.
Whilst the audience aren't rolling around in the aisles, they're clearly having a good time, and even when there is a lull in reaction, he manages to pull it back after a considered pause.
As a part of the Five Pound Fringe, the show delivers more than stuff you've no doubt paid double for in the past, and the last half hour is a genuine treat. Especially worth a watch if you need to know how to acquire a tortoise without technological help.