Review by Paul Fleckney

Character comics so often come across as if they’ve been raised on a diet of Radio 4, and Radio 4 only, that it makes a refreshing change to see someone a little more cutting edge. Damien Slash (real name Daniel Barker) is to my mind pitched to more of a Channel 4/BBC Three kind of audience, with a Nathan Barley-ish edge to him. Mind you he is one of those YouTube sensations, so maybe I’m being a granddad for still thinking in TV terms.

The modern-day wanker is often the target of his satirical character comedy – the tech visionary/blue-sky thinker, the garage DJ, the gaming boffin. Less niche is his limping gambling addict and his pretentious mineral water reviewer. His shape-shifting between characters is impressive and full-blooded, committing to costume changes and highly exaggerated voices – you would hardly believe it’s the same man behind all his creations.

Is it funny? Ach … sometimes. There are pockets of humour in all the characters on show. There’s the absurdity of Eric Swineblade, the nasal bullshitter who fancies himself as a tech visionary who 'brings ideas to life'. The Cockney gambling man has these gabbling runs of comedy gibberish that hit the spot, and his gaming expert Fedora Borealis The Merciful is wonderfully condescending. The wine-tasting rhetoric of his luvvie water reviewer also works well.

These are just pockets though. I’m not entirely sure what is holding back the mirth for me; my best guess is that the characters themselves fundamentally need a comedic twist. At the moment they shine a light on a ridiculous kind of person, and the humour must come through his performance skills or writing in gags. I like that slightly impressionistic style of character comedy, but it’s probably a bugger to make consistently funny.

It might be no coincidence that the characters with an in-built hook – the garage DJ reviewing an Ian McEwan book, the mineral water reviewer – worked the best.

Review date: 13 Aug 2015
Reviewed by: Paul Fleckney
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard