one4review | On 16, Aug 2018

This show has lots of potential, but a lot of it is stored in the quality of the acts and the relevance of their material. So another day may bring another, very different show.

Additionally, the particular show I saw was rather hijacked by its own audience. From the lady who rather combatively declared that she finishes several books a week (despite the ‘no judging or snobbery’ ethos George was trying to promote), to the small group who misunderstood the show to be a discussion forum, Mr Dimarelos had quite a lot to contend with.

The show is a compilation, with different acts each day bringing material loosely based around books, while Mr Dimarelos hosts and provides some introductory explanation and material. He did his best to set some limits – like not judging people for what or how much they’ve read – but these limits weren’t strong enough, and coupled with encouragement for the audience to shout out suggestions or otherwise contribute, the lines between comedy show and debating forum got rather blurred.

One measure of a comedian is to see them on a bad day, with a pain-in-the-ass audience. It did seem like the audience was an issue that Mr Dimarelos hadn’t had before, and was a little lost for solutions which were in-keeping with his polite and respectful demeanour.

An interesting concept for a show that is worth taking a punt on.

Reveiwed by Laura
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14:05
Until 26th