Steve Weiner – Original Review
Note: This review is from 2007
Review by Steve Bennett
Steve Weiner is a skilled caricaturist, able to recreate a bunch of everyday archetypes as raucously funny comic grotesques, yet keep them grounded in astutely observed reality.A lot of familiar personalities populate his set, spanning the social spectrum from the chavvy mum violently berating her feral kids to the well-to-do middle-class francophile, posturing pretentiously.
What sets him apart from other newcomers is his skill at capturing the essence of the characters, with just an exaggerated expression or simple turn of phrase, giving each of them his own distinctive twist, rather than simply following the stereotypical templates. It’s a skill that’s reminiscent of Matt Lucas, but with a freshness that Little Britain lost with over-saturated exposure.
Away from the set-piece characterisations – of which his babbling juvenile mobile-phone salesman is the stand-out example – his stand-up material is rather less impressive, with easy pot-shots at penny-pinching Ryanair, for example. But even when the writing is ordinary, this entertaining comic proves himself a personable, versatile performer with a keen observational wit.
Review date: 30 Nov 2007
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
