The affably natured Rod Hunter, John Purves and Les Sinclair bring their charming stand-up routine of one-liners galore and light observation to the Bee Hive Inn. They perform in front of a packed room of Fringe spectators, where the unluckiest have a completely obstructed view of the comedians.
Compère Sinclair starts off the evening with a warm introduction to the evening exhibiting a series of well rehearsed one liners and stories – one of the most memorable a punch line around the surprising average age of a pigeon. Sinclair holds his audience with composure and although some of his jokes are simple and do not hold water with his audience, others lift the room into an uproar of delight.
The second act to take his turn at the mic is John Purves. Purves is more of a bon mot specialist than Sinclair and could be the Scottish Uncle of Milton Jones. His warm charm and long, dyed pink hair is also reminiscent of Billy Connolly. Though his delivery could be sharper and one of his jokes about being disappointed after reading Great Expectations has been recited by many other stand-up comedians, he keeps his audience giggling throughout.
The third and final comedian is Rod Hunter, who sets out in his 15 minute set to make light of some of Scotland’s more exotic locations, a highlight being an amusing comparison between his Paisley shirt and the neglected town outside of Glasgow. Hunter’s short stories about fatherhood, vajazzles and being labelled a ‘Paedo’ by his children in many different ways, resonated with his audience and kept a consistent wave of laughter running through the Beehive Inn.
Old men Can’t Jump is by no means groundbreaking and is probably never going to make the 10pm slot at the Pleasance Courtyard. It is however full of laughs. Sinclair, Purves and Hunter are not professionals, but clearly love what they do and approach each gag with a refreshing energy. There is no cynicism in the delivery of their performance and they are definitely worth your time.
