Review by Steve Bennett

As Ray Parker Jr’s infectious Ghostbusters theme plays this show in, I write a glib line in my notebook... and blow me if an hour later that isn’t the big message of Paul Gannon’s storytelling show.

That something that could have been a throwaway line in an ephemeral comedy review winds up as the denouement of show months in the planning is symptomatic of an underpowered hour that, while perfectly adequate, never goes the extra distance to surprise or enlighten.

One of two Ghostbuster-themed comedy shows starting within five minutes of each other this Fringe, Gannon’s is a tale of how his geeky obsession saved his life.

A devoted fan of the movie since he saw it in the cinema as a sickly six-year-old, it was was to prove his salvation when he suffered a chronic bout of depression, decades later, following the collapse of a long-term relationship. He was advised to find a passion he could enjoy away from his troubles, and so became a real-life ghost-hunter, visiting some of Britain’s most haunted sites with EMF meter, hearing enhancer and night-vision goggles.

It’s a positive story for him, and he tells in with an engaging delivery. Only problem is that jokes prove as elusive as a poltergeist to actually nail down.

There are a couple of light innuendos implying behaviour that’s the other kind of creepy, some easy but ineffectual comments against TV shows such as Most Haunted, and a redundant sketch that really doesn’t earn its place breaking up the narrative. A homemade recreation of a Ghostbusters scene, Be Kind, Rewind-style, might raise a wry smile because of the low-budget compromises, but it overstays its welcome. Otherwise that’s it.

After a few stories of how he was spooked on his adventures, Gannon finds himself in the exploitative, charlatan world of psychics. Even though he’s no fan, he seems reasonably happy working alongside them – until other problems with that venture threaten to tip him back over the edge. But a redemption is found.

Paul Gannon Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghost seems to follow the structure of what an Edinburgh show should be, based on analysing the format of other Fringe hits and making sure the narrative fits the formula. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but the anecdotes have only the mildest comic flavour, and we’re never fully emotionally invested in his journey.

He might have earned an extra star in the spoken word section, where laughs are a bonus, but as a comedy it’s as insubstantial as the sprites he’s been chasing.

Review date: 10 Aug 2013
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett