This is frighteningly honest stuff. Nick Page may be a self-confessed arsehole (three ex-wives, seven ex-fiancees, once murdered a dog, etc.) but he’s a likable performer. Unlike so many comedians who claim to have screwed up their lives, Page appears to be telling the truth. With deadpan delivery and pitch-black humour, Page leads us through a no-holds-barred narrative of his life, highlighting the various moments when he has been a dick. Though Page’s anecdotes aren’t always laugh-worthy, the audience are hooked throughout. He’s aware of his own powerful ability as a storyteller and admits that he has mostly used this skill for nefarious purposes (sleazing his way onto daytime TV, mis-selling people car insurance, etc.) Like I said, he’s a bastard, but watching him lay out his cards on the table is a funny, cathartic, and very entertaining process.
So far, so good. The first half of Page’s set is fun and distinctive, but nothing exceptional. It’s also, if you’re of a conservative disposition, slightly hampered by the sheer wickedness of the things he admits to having done. Like, for example, sleeping his wife’s sister on the day of her father’s funeral. From another comic this would be a ludicrous set-up, from Page it’s an apologetic statement of fact.
However, things change in the second-half when Page’s life descends into a Kafkaesque legal hell with hilarious results. Having committed some kind of serious fraud (Page is hazy on the details), he’s sentenced to either a thousand-pound fine or a month in jail. He chooses the month in jail and spends the next two years trying to get himself imprisoned for the free food and luxury sports facilities. This real-life glimpse into the legal system is bizarre, eye-opening and unbelievably funny. It’s also impossible to do justice to in a review. Page’s show may bear little relation to its Fringe programme description (there’s not a single eunuch gag) , but it’s all the better for it. Go watch him - his skit about living in Gloucester and being forced to make friends with the sort of people who live in Gloucester, is worth the price of admission alone.
