It is absolutely not Fraser Brown who needs to be afraid. It is all the other comics, because he is extraordinarily good, he is a total newbie and he is here. Oh that the Edinburgh Comedy Awards were here, even just to see the finest, freshest crop of newcomers I have seen in a long, long, long time. And Fraser Brown is one of the freshest of the fresh.
Fraser Brown is one of the freshest of the fresh
He weaponises his youth in a vicious but hilarious ten minutes about old people and death, then moves on to his insecurities and hangups in another great routine followed by religion in yet another. Every idea that he turns into a routine is quality. From the positive side to bullying and the right age for misery, to religion as comedy, there is not a single moment you feel you have heard somewhere before; except his James Acaster expression, and that is only because it is so good.
The comedy places he takes his darkness are all uncharted and exciting. The fun he has with words and phrases, metaphor and euphemism is a whole different kind of comedy, but he is as sure with that as he is when toying with a little surreality. This young man has serious skills.
It should be noted that he does all this in, possibly, the worst venue for a newbie stand-up. It is huge, it is flat and it has all the atmosphere of an examination hall, which is probably what it is. But he dominates the place.
