It’s a little dark and drab as the audience politely waits in Bunker Two at the Pleasance. As André De Freitas bounces on to the stage for his debut full length show
Brilliantly funny
It’s a confident start from De Freitas, or ‘The Portuguese Papi’ as he likes to call himself. He admits his onstage appearance is a little muddled (in his opinion, part American and part lesbian). He tells us immediately that he likes to perform in English because it is his happy language. It’s from this early point in the hour that the show just radiates joy. This joy allows De Freitas’ audience to relax and join him on this rollercoaster of an hour.
The striking thing about De Freitas’ onstage persona is how fleshed out it is. You wouldn’t guess this was his first Edinburgh. He’s incredibly professional. Some of the best jokes of the night came from his impressive crowd work. Because of his three-dimensional stage persona, the crowd connect with him in such a natural way – one of the quickest and strongest performer/audience connections I’ve seen in a long time. In terms of his material, De Freitas works hard to find the clever punchlines where easier ones could have been used. Routines about mental health issues within his family are handled with great care and respect but are still brilliantly funny. There’s an element of gentleness about him that makes his stories so interesting to listen to.
There’s a couple of reasons why I haven’t spoken in depth about the show’s material itself. The first reason is that I don’t want to spoil anything – some of these stories have to be heard to be believed. The main reason is because the draw of this show is André himself. The Portuguese Papi has created a comedy show about belief, passion and never giving up on your dreams. Watching him, you can’t help but get behind him, wishing him to succeed. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face the entire hour. Papi, Eu desejo tudo de melhor para você!
