Search

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Andrew Maxwell: Slight Return

 
Lanikai KT Review by Lanikai KT 2 Published: 24 Aug 2016 Assembly George Square Theatre Show Dates: 18 Aug 2016-28 Aug 2016

Slight Return’s showbiz opening - jazzy music, searchlight scanning the crowd - is a fun contrast to a consciously dressed-down show, but it’s unfortunately prophetic in an hour which can’t quite find the right direction. Brexit provides a loose theme but ends up feeling like a vehicle for a series of outdated stereotypes and accents.

Slight Return feels like an able comedian winging it.

Maxwell opens with some comfortable audience chat and a bit of off-the-cuff bantering about different nationalities and the Olympics: like the rest of the hour, it’s well-delivered but predictable. Much of the material consists of statements or simple references, relying on laughs of recognition at contemporary buzzwords like Tinder rather than crafting set-ups rewarded with a punchline. Maxwell’s stage swagger is a little grating given the familiarity of the material, and the swearing begins to feel like a way of making fairly conventional observations seem palatably subversive.

“People just aren’t interested,” he tells us, though there’s not enough political insight here to redress the balance. Slight Return isn’t quite as incisive as Maxwell’s manner would suggest, which is a shame given his track record. He comments that he isn’t phased by audiences who disagree with him, but here stale comments about Jeremy Corbyn are so devoid of political bite there isn’t really anything to disagree with. The humour often feels outdated and the targets misjudged. Maxwell is most likeable when poking fun at his native Ireland or interacting with the audience, suggesting a warmer side to a show which often feels like it’s punching down.

Maxwell is clearly a talented performer but the material lets him down on this occasion. By his own admission, the performance is an excuse for his children to return to Edinburgh this year, but from such an established comic it could do with a little more crafting: Slight Return feels like an able comedian winging it.

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

The multi award-winning, true Fringe institution and one of the planet's funniest social and political commentators (slightly) returns. As seen on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and many more. As heard on his own BBC Radio 4 show Late Agenda and voice of Ex On the Beach. Back for only a limited season, get your tickets quick for truly of the of the masters of stand-up who’s never shy to let you know his big ideas. ‘One of the funniest men in Britain’ ***** (Telegraph).