✭✭✭✭
Here is a guy who knows why people have come to see him. Having endeared himself to millions on the last series of Taskmaster, Ivo Graham is smart enough to build on the expectations of his audience. Ivo Graham: Organised Fun is a trawl through (some of?) his concerns and idiosyncrasies. Clearly he revels in the trivia of normal life, particularly in the way it tends to gang up on him.
Everything from ‘The Weakest Link’ to the Top Trumps card game is covered. This involves a level of audience participation which is evidently a source of great fun for Graham himself and allows him free rein to be at his quickest and most self-deprecating.
It’s clear that his favourite subject matter is he, himself. Whilst that may sound selfish, what it actually demonstrates is his frustrations at his own failings. To manage this and keep your audience with you is no mean achievement. Here is a stand-up at the top of his game.
Quick-paced and making use of a screen at the back to illustrate some of his points, Graham harks back to the days of ‘organised fun’ and questions whether such a thing is actually possible…. and then proves it is by engaging with audience members and managing to derive entertainment — and laughs — from the most basic of premises.
Even after his exit from the stage the audience leaves with a final reminder of his ‘ultimate humiliation’ recorded on TV at the age of 18. You won’t be challenged to consider matters political or satirical but you will enjoy seeing someone who clearly understands his craft and his place within it.
Ivo Graham: Organised Fun
Pleasance Courtyard — Pleasance Beyond
August 10 -27, 6:30pm
Leave a Reply