And Still Rarely Rong presents a humorous look at family life from dead-pan Geordie, Gary Coleman. Opening with a gag about how he shares a name with the late, but great, Different Strokes actor, Gary instantly held the audience in the palm of his hand with his laid back story-telling style. Whilst the topic of family may seem overdone to some, Coleman has a seemingly fresh take on the subject and uses his plethora of material to interweave stories with ease. Drawing on his move down South stories are told of his upbringing in the North-East compared to that of his children in his new home, Hackney. Coleman also draws on the different parenting attitudes adopted by himself and his father. He has a knack for being able to follow up quips about how silly he finds his children with much darker material without coming across as overly sinister.
His material ranged from deep thought to the overtly comical; in seconds we were transported from topics of drugs and difference in social class in East London to the perils of a Geordie boy ice-skating as a kid. Coleman also has that lovely comedic gift of being able to link together seemingly unrelated stories or throwaway lines at later points in the show.
Although he sometimes muddled stories and despite the terrible pun in the title this was an excellent show from Gary Coleman and a clear indicator that the Free Fringe is not to be ignored in the hunt for quality comedy.
