Every so often, an act comes along to ask, ‘What is comedy, anyway?’ Generally, these acts employ this gem as a tool of deflection and are, in fact, a little talentless. Art Dodd prove themselves to be masters of the awkward tension. Who’s Driving Adam? is made under the premise that laughter doesn’t need to seduced out of an audience. It’s a combination of playing hard to get and begging on hands and knees, telling your love you’re wearing a nappy. (Yeah, that bit was weird.) Not to be recommended in courtship, yet Art Dodd’s bizarre multi-layered sketch show gets some laughs. Awkward ones, sure, but it’s on their terms. By starving its audience of opportunities to laugh, the tension builds, making them a little light-headed and a little more likely to laugh. I think the Hare Krishna do something similar.
Who’s Driving Adam? has no real plot, but there is a certain expositional tone to each of the sketches. They take some of the traditional themes that lazier comics might adopt upon coming to the Fringe (that is, being broke because of the Fringe, not being critically successful at the Fringe, etc.) and present some new and exciting material. Sometimes these moments of intellectualisation work, whereas at other points, such as an tedious exploration of the boundaries of comedy, they can distract from the more slapstick elements of the act, such as wearing a funny hat during said exploration.
Who’s Driving Adam? is immensely enjoyable. They’re a lot more special than their show description would have you believe. They may be a little crass at times, more than a bit unsettling but I can guarantee you won’t be able to keep your eyes off this devilish duo.
