Doctor Brown’s ability to communicate and interact with the audience silently despite his understated facial movements and body language is commendable, particularly when compared to others in a similar genre. His naturally friendly face is partly to thank for this, which makes the audience feel comfortable despite his frequent forays into their personal space. Due to the nature of the comedy, he relies a lot on repetition. I found that this could drag on a bit, as it isn’t until the third or fourth time the conceit is repeated that it starts to become funny. However, once we reach this point it is always worth it. It’s just a shame that there were a lot of lulls in the show.
It was quite a shock when he started speaking in the second half and for some of it the speech seemed unnecessary - for example when ‘answering the doorbell’ for the mailman. This could be done entirely mimed and with sound effects. However, his ‘going swimming’ skit at the end was hilarious and his awkward chatting made it all the more funny.
The beginning and the ending were the stand-out moments for me, both were completely underwhelming at first, until the joke finally became clear. This subversion of a normal show was inspired and proves just how much he operates outside the rules.
