Revill’s Selection is an hour of very friendly comedy, with Paul Revill hosting and three unannounced acts every day.
On this occasion, the audience was packed with families, couples both old and young and groups of friends and tourists. Paul Revill warmed up the crowd in a warm, unpretentious and inoffensive way. Feeding helpings of Revel’s Selection chocolates, he told tales from his career as a supply teacher, anecdotes involving road rage and questions to the floor regarding what super power we would like to have.
The vibes were jovial and the novelty guests ranged from the musical Paul B. Edwards to ventriloquist Sean James and then lastly to straight-up stand-up comedian Jim Campbell. Paul B. Edwards played a few tunes on an electric guitar and told a number of stories about Edinburgh, unemployment and his failures with women, before hopelessly coming on to a bewildered French girl in the front row - much to everyone’s amusement. Sean James showed off his ventriloquist skills, seeming confused and insulted by his doll who claimed to be ‘the real Sean James.’ He got plenty of laughs but one felt that he could have perhaps been more adventurous with his set as he did little beyond the ventriloquist’s standard procedure of accents, impersonations and songs. Jim Campbell had a comfortable stage presence and related some hilarious incidents about escalators, getting old and his failed relationship with a very ill-informed Catholic girl.
As far as free comedy goes, this is not a show that will disappoint.
