2011 Edinburgh Fringe
The Lunchtime Club review
Max Dickins is a fantastic compère. What started as a gentle, personable set, began to really shine as he delivered solid topical gags that could have been, at most, 8 hours old. When the audience interaction began, rather than relying on having a pornstar in the front row, Dickins spun out a tangled web of sexual intrigue from a small mistake in identifying how the front row were related. The gentle, friendly delivery let him push the audience into pretty dark territory without any hint of risking embarrassment or tension. He set the tone for the midday set perfectly, with dirty gags that felt risqué but never risky. Having worked the lunchtime crowd into hysterics in his first slot, the jokes built up between the acts, until he ended with a spectacular, perfect, mimed set-piece. Without ever overshadowing the acts, he made the show.
Joe Wells is a skilled jokesmith who threads great gags through intelligent political material that, whilst razor-sharp, is never particularly angry or dark. It seemed ironic that he opened with a rather bitter reference to a bad review, but as the first gross gags open up into smarter, topical ones it's clear that this is a tightly structured, well thought out set. Excellent jokes and sly political comment wrapped tightly in a neat parcel which delivers regular, powerful laughs from a delighted audience. He spins new life out of easy targets like bankers and the BNP with some wonderful imagery. Some of his later jokes about performance get extremely esoteric, but they're perfect for a lunchtime Edinburgh crowd, and having material flexible enough to suit the situation is only to his credit.
Fin Taylor has huge quantities of charm and energy, which means it takes a long while to notice how empty his material is. The jokes about women dieting, silly foreign accents and the size of his penis, are delivered pretty well. Having been handed a friendly, warmed-up crowd by the previous acts, his set is met with pleasant laughs, though they rarely rise above a titter. When an audience member gives a friendly heckle referring back to the MC's earlier joke, Fin claims the resulting roar is the biggest laugh that gag ever got, and it takes him a while to ease back into his routine. This isn't the only time he gets distracted and lost, which is strange considering how loose the set feels.
Suzi Ruffell's delightfully delivered tales of the trials faced by an awkward lesbian in a less-than tactful family keep the audience giggling happily. Sweet and intensely likeable, she takes us gently through stories of acute embarrassment, terrible bullies and heartbroken tears. It is particularly impressive that we are always led to like the various and occasionally cruel characters in her stories, and her self-deprecating style always feels genuine, warm, and kind. The audience is comfortable and completely won over, but also always entertained. Thoroughly enjoyable.
John Kearns takes some big risks in a surreal, aggressive set which would be better suited to a later crowd. Yet even in for this slightly surprised midday crowd when the laughs do hit, they hit really hard. Twisted imagery brings big belly laughs and surreal stories build slowly to great climaxes. There are points where he seems in danger of losing the entire audience, but every time he brings it back with spectacular style, getting as much of a response for that one last joke than a more easy-going act would get for five. His on-stage persona is intense and sometimes unnerving, but he keeps the audience riveted and delivers the laughs.
The Lunchtime Club 2011 listing