Review by Steve Bennett

No one does whimsy like Mark Forward. Because he does it mean.

Think this is going to be a cutesy-pie story about the chipmunks he fed in the forest? Hell no. It quickly takes a turn into the dark, intense drama of high stakes. It’s like Beatrix Potter remade by Quentin Tarantino.

Something as simple as an odd phrase in a newspaper article or an out-of-place ‘fancy hat’ in a convenience store triggers more of these extreme tales, told with such compelling vividness that he has to remind the audience: ‘Don’t take this seriously… None of this is real.’

The building and release of tension in these shaggy-dog tales are just one way this ursine Canadian messes with us. There’s an edgy banter between the set pieces as he jokes about the size of the crowd, the ‘sarcastic’ laughter or someone putting their feet on his stage – and just when you think he might be serious he makes it obvious he’s just teasing. There’s a lot more playfulness here than his commanding stage presence originally lets on. At one point, he even has to suppress his giggles at how badly attended this gig is – and you can understand confusion… stand-up of this quality ought to be a hot ticket.

He has other segments that are more… well, ‘conventional’ isn’t the word, but not wedded to that style of twisted fantasy that he has made so distinctively his own. So he serves up a nice, offbeat take on serial killer nicknames or explaining why some people’s kids are garbage. Classy stand-up to their core.

Everything is slightly off the beats you’d expect – and in a good way. Just the way he puts away a guitar is funny, as you weren’t expecting it. When he tells a story with several characters, he doesn’t just turn his head from side to side to indicate who’s speaking, they all inhabit different parts of the stage, forcing him to walk calmly between them for each line, forcing an enjoyably odd pace on the skit. It’s all part of his commitment to doing something different in the details of stand-up while still keeping it relatively accessible.

It all makes Forward an interesting, creative and hilarious act – and judging by ticket sales a yet-to-be discovered treasure of this Fringe.

Review date: 21 Aug 2015
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Gilded Balloon Teviot