Aaron Twitchen’s bright smile lights up the pub throughout
Twitchen is an assured stand-up and navigates both his material and his venue with style.
A large chunk of the beginning is dedicated to admin and audience interaction. Twitchen is quick to react to any comments from the audience, and he needs to be. His performance space is prone to interruptions from the noises of other shows, as well as walkers-by entering midway through in search of a pint. This means that punchlines are in danger of losing their punch, and Twitchen manages to smoothly incorporate this unpredictability into his material, breaking off on constant tangents to comment on whatever is going on around him. This decision not to ignore outside action largely works in his favour.
The majority of his set is a collection of musings on his marrying friends, his dating history, and his crush on Duncan from Blue. He reads from a diary in a strange American accent. This recurs throughout, although the anecdotes there contained lack especial interest or humour. Twitchen is more successful at identifying social trends, such as the ‘winter boyfriend’ and the phenomenon of ‘ghosting’ (when a love interest or partner just suddenly stops replying to your messages). A few explicit details of a sexual nature also make their way into the set, used more for shock factor than anything else.
Twitchen is an assured stand-up and navigates both his material and his venue with style. The self-deprecating tone is endearing but sometimes undermines the confidence in his material, and his cynical view on relationships feels a little downbeat. Nevertheless, Twitchen provides an amusing hour and it’s worth staying put if you find yourself in The Blind Poet.
