Review by Mickey Noonan

Like Neil Hamburger or Andy Kaufman, Norman Lovett is an acquired taste. His avuncular ramblings, silly props and endless non-sequiturs will tickle those with massive patience but be far too slow for many fans of comedy, although there is still plenty to enjoy.

Not for an entire hour, however. This show feels way too long and the actual laugh out loud moments are spaced too far apart. There isn’t a theme; it’s just an hour of an elderly gentleman faffing about with things he keeps in a bag. This includes plastic bags, which he allows to fill with air and gently float to the ground (oddly peaceful), pink and purple bike gloves (amusingly odd) and toilet rolls for hands (just odd).

Lovett himself admits he’s just making stuff up on the spot and, unlike most very carefully scripted spontaneity, it does feel off-the-cuff. That’s why not all of it, in fact a big chunk of it, doesn’t work. That often acts in his favour; the responses when his material hits the mark seem very loud in comparison to the baffled staring that greets a good proportion of it.

The props are the main focus, along with Lovett’s baleful face and wry commentary. There are gags in there and they’re purposefully bad, but Lovett’s mind works in peculiar ways, which means you won’t really be expecting anything that happens – such as his surprisingly lively Sugababes debate.

A master of the comedy cul-de-sac, it’s all part of his game, Lovett does what he does albeit, at snail pace. And what he does is redefine low-key with mixed results.  

Review date: 11 Aug 2010
Reviewed by: Mickey Noonan