Tommy Fury once said “if life is a game, then love is the prize”. The Ivo of Fringe 2019 is still glowing with new fatherhood, bringing a show about adapting to a new stage in life while still peppering in all the usual Graham patter. Knowingly or not, Ivo seems to have taken on Tommy’s words as he strides the gymnasium-cum-stage of the Pleasance Forth, now a master of his craft and brimming with the clarity and skill of someone who has found everything he is looking for; all of this making for his most mature and well rounded show yet.
Ivo’s smashed it with a show that confidently asserts why he’s one of the most skilled and contemporary stand up talents around.
On the night of this review, an emergency situation had meant that many people were halted from entering the Pleasance Courtyard for some time before the area could be deemed safe. This meant that a large chunk of Ivo’s audience – including this mild-mannered reviewer – were forced to enter late. Many comedians would have put off by such an interruption, distracted from the delivery of the narrative – but a pro such as Ivo? By now a veteran of the many fringes and the stand up circuit? Was indeed still very much a victim of this. And yet, his skilled and experienced handling of the situation and successful attempt to work it all in only added to the spontaneity and warmth of his performance, barely impeding the momentum of the show at all. If anything, it added to it. But please nobody either going to Ivo’s show or working on Ivo’s show do anything hasty to once again direct the emergency services to the Courtyard. Please.
The show is a lot of fun. All of the expected war stories of new parenthood are here, although he settles us with the promise that it’s not all about having a child, and that there’s a bit at the end about going to the dentist. We get the inside scoop on the Johnson brothers, the proficiency of Etonian schoolboys with Microsoft Powerpoint, and a lament over a loss – Ivo’s old car, the ‘beast’. It’s all funnier than I’m making it sound. Promise. Boules tournaments, self-awareness about boules tournaments, the customary reevaluation of being an old Etonian, a light yet smart touch on Brexit, it’s all there. Ivo’s signature anxious analysis is very much in full force, and yet unhindered from going further and faster. 2019 Ivo is fearless, it’s great.
While previous shows have focused on identity, there’s no need for that now. Ivo’s smashed it with a show that confidently asserts why he’s one of the most skilled and contemporary stand up talents around. But just as, if not more importantly, he’s gained the love of a daughter and a fiancée. So he’s winning on multiple fronts. Nice one Ivo!
