Set in the depths of the Tron is an intimate comedy venue hosting the Amsterdam Comedy Collective. As to be expected, at least 50% of the audience were Dutch, and they had come to see what has been billed as the Dutch equivalent of Rich Hall, Doug Stanhope, Stewart Lee and Ricky Gervais all on the same bill.
Hosted by a squeaky voiced compare who comes across as a mix between an early Lee Evans and the Biscuit from Ally Mcbeal, his pace is fast and style loose. After suitably warming up the crowd the first comedian introduced is a giant of a man by the name of Theo. Theo has dry observations based on Anne Frank, space travel and the French language, which all go down well with the crowd. However it is towards the end of his set that something of a cultural divide begins to open. Jokes about slavery and the holocaust don't seem globally popular.
The next comic showed just how ridiculous and funny it can be when someone with a Dutch accent tries to speak Gangsta. He had good delivery and timing, and the whole audience enjoyed his performance, but it was from this point in the show that the earlier fracture in cultural division began widening into an abyss. Raoul Heertjes' set seemed to be full of xenophobic ranting. The Dutch in the audience seemed to find very funny, but the rest of us felt uncomfortable and wondered if he was channelling Bernard Manning.
Hans the final comic was reminiscent of an early Lee Evans, but without the sweat. A highlight of the show was his performance of Popeye the sailor man. I had a sense of disappointment with the Amsterdam Underground Comedy Collective. More reminiscent of a 70s working man's club than a show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Nothing new or ground breaking.
