Review by Steve Bennett

Clean-cut stand-up Dan Clark does a little bit of everything in this show, but nothing particularly well.  Throughout the hour, he offers observational routines, surreal material and a few comedy songs, but nothing really strikes as being outstanding.

Erotic Neurotic seems to be the nickname that Clark has given himself, although the reasons why are not entirely clear.  This suggested combination of the sexual and the weird would suit an act that did seem genuinely strange, but Clark appears a normal enough guy.  Any quirks he does convey are calculated, used as a bizarre twist to a normal - even dated - set-up.

In this sense, Clark has hit upon some nice ideas.  More than once, a routine superficially seems as old as time before he drives it in an entirely new and unexpected direction.  However, even if a flare of originality occasionally surprises, Clark too often pays off gags with some terrible punchlines.  In an early routine about handshakes, for example, the length of the preamble demands a large concluding laugh, which doesn’t materialise.

Clark moves into more familiar territory with discussions of easyJet and the sexualisation of children’s television.  The latter, at least, is a well-written and effective bit of observational comedy, but jars against the surreal subversions we had earlier been presented with.

By the time the show reaches its finale, its inherent flaws have already become glaring.  There are some glimmers of hope and interest scattered across the hour, but j nothing is concentrated enough to make this worth recommending. 

The only lasting impression that Clark creates is that of a comic with little sense of his comic self, attempting to encompass everything in the hope of latching on to something that works.

Review date: 1 Jan 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett