one4review | On 23, Aug 2017

Please read the whole review, and not just the number of stars. You need to know, as Mr Bookes says, what you’re letting yourself in for – to make sure it’s a good fit with you. But if you discover that Mr Brookes’ comedy is a fit for you, oh, it is glorious.

This show, in my opinion, is Jordan really coming into his own. Though it retains all of his characteristic discomfiting, disquieting, button-pushing, it does also contain life-rafts of normality to which you can cling briefly while to get your breath. Before Jordan grabs your toes and drags you under to the surreal depths again. You’re likely to spend at least some of the show with your hands over your mouth or watching through your fingers – it’s often the sort of comedy you squawk at before you laugh.

There’s lots going on here, and the more you contemplate and reflect on it, the more you realise is in there. What seem like individual bits of worrying hilarity reveal more depth, more context and more insights when considered from the distance of an hour or a pint. There’s also the Rorschach joke, which is definitely my favourite of the Fringe.

There were a fair few poorless souls wetting themselves with laughter in this audience (I was one); far more than the few who were clearly in the wrong show. Jordan used them (and gently abused them) and made it look like a choreographed part of the show. Mr Brookes has come into his own with a show that is by no means mainstream, but definitely more accessible.

Pleasance Courtyard, 23:00

Reviewed by Laura