Review by Steve Bennett

Eddie Naessens is a mild-mannered Irishman with a modest line in observational comedy. With low-key delivery he tells of life as one of ten Catholic siblings, of the backlash when he played a heel on Ireland’s only soap opera and his observations on the state of rolling TV news programmes.

It’s quite nice stuff, told in an endearingly unassuming way, but unlikely to be able to hold the attention for a full hour.

However, after a few minutes it transpires that he has another agenda. He has a story to tell, to which this inconsequential stand-up was only the appetiser.

Naessens, you see, had cancer. Cancer of the saliva gland, that could only be treated by an operation and irradiation that would leave his face paralysed – and even then only give him 20 per cent chance of survival.

Obviously he did survive – being dead is the one angle Fringe comics have yet to exploit, unless you count the Bill Hicks tribute act – and with less damage to his facial muscles than a Botox jab would have inflicted. That we know the outcome means the show is in the journey, not the conclusion.

And Naessens makes it an engrossing, fascinating and good-natured ride. Unlike Andre Vincent’s previous tumour-themed show, which was unashamedly played for laughs, this is a comedy show in name only - in reality, it is more of a storytelling session.

Naessens has a sly wit to him, which avoids the tales of his treatments and diagnoses becoming stiflingly serious. And despite his understated method, he does bring the story to life with measured use of his acting background – playing out all the medics who attended him from the useless GP to the condescending specialist to the blunt Australian doctor.

He questions some of his treatment – whether patients want the kid gloves treatment or to be told straight, for example – and skirts around any major life-affirming message. Instead, it is a straightforward narrative, nicely told. Modest in ambition, but quietly effective.

Review date: 1 Jan 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett