Andy Stedman: 9 Months and Counting provides mild comedy and funny songs. Perhaps it should stick to the latter.
Stedman’s concerns about becoming a father meander from worries about the birth to which parent his child will love more. The comedy element here is very gentle indeed, with Stedman’s rather fumbling delivery style (at one point he mistakes a duck for a frog mid-punchline and has to tell the joke again) meaning that many jokes have a limited impact. The show was laboured at these points; occasionally, Stedman’s efforts have the feel of a filler before he can return to his musical comedy.
He is more successful where he involves the audience, with a generous crowd becoming enthusiastically involved in games of Never-have-I-ever and word association. Here, Stedman displays real talent in playing to his audience, creating and maintaining a friendly rapport which gives the show much of its charm. It is these sections which mean that, although laugh out loud moments are comparatively rare in Stedman’s stand-up, the audience is rarely uncomfortable.
The undoubted star of the show, however, is Stedman’s foray into musical comedy. It is here that the show justifies itself as an entity; whilst the stand up is often gains a muted reaction, the songs are genuinely funny. Stedman constructs delicate couplets through which he details the more graphic aspects of his wife’s pregnancy. He sings to his unborn child about favouritism and dating. He even manages to involve his audience (with, predictably, varying degrees of success). Despite musical triumph, however, the strained nature of his standup is hard to overcome.
Andy Stedman: 9 Months and Counting provides mild comedy and funny songs. Perhaps it should stick to the latter.
