Liam Withnail: Home Boy (rating 2/5)
Billed as one of Scotland’s most exciting comedians, Liam Withnail came highly recommended. On this first outing he’s got a lot to prove.
An hour of lacklustre anecdotes, some touching on sensitive issues such as gun crime, left my half of the audience in near silence.
Withnail comes across as a likeable lad, who builds on his uncomfortable transition from working class son of an Irish immigrant to middle class married man. But it was hard to find a comic character beyond what was little more than a rambling run through a series of stories that were supposed to be linked to his ‘straight white man’ routine. Gender issues feature strongly at this year’s Fringe and there was surely more to be extracted from this theme.
Two women walked out half way through, though it was not clear whether they objected to the material, which was fairly harmless apart from his use of the c-word a couple of times.
Withnail is being touted for this year’s awards but this was more like listening to a man in a pub having a moan, rather than a comedian with a structured routine. He’ll need to tighten up his act with some better punchlines and one-liners to be in the running. There were more laughs in each of the three-minute clips at the press night preview at the Stand.
Liam Withnail, Monkey Barrel, Blair Street
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