Greeting the guests on the door with a bubbly personality in an attempt to brighten up the dark, underground bunker that would play host to his stage, Stephen Bailey set the mood for what proved to be relaxed, chilled out gossip with his audience. Despite what the show’s title may suggest,
Bailey is an expert at making you feel at ease with his vivacious style and colourful disposition which comes to the forefront of his appeal.
Bailey has a natural chemistry with his audience and is where he truly comes into his own. Though the scripted sections of his set have their moments for comic potential, it’s when he interacts with his peers that he feels most comfortable – jesting with them and having a conversation with them, rather than picking out a target and bleeding them dry of any comic potential their life stories may hold. Bailey is an expert at making you feel at ease with his vivacious style and colourful disposition which comes to the forefront of his appeal.
With a comedian such as Bailey, that is where his strengths need to be played. He is strongest when reacting to the suggestions brought up by his audience, and he knows it. However it felt that for this show he was buried more within his “scripted” set than doing what he does best. Topics for discussion included unfortunate Facebook posts, Twitter conflicts and WhatsApp arguments that were mostly recited from a scrapbook, which though received its appropriate response were far from the highlight of his performance.
Despite the rather grim location, the space was perfect for the relationship Bailey wanted with his audience and the small space allowed his loveable personality to fill the room. However, it was purely a case that he needed to stick to his strengths and talk more with the audience rather than get caught in his material. But Bailey does have the potential to go a lot further than a bunker at the back of Pleasance Courtyard.
