Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

You can pretty much get the whole Fringe in under an hour with Paul Currie’s insanely manic offering. Teet is an untethered fire hose of absurdity; bonkers ideas gushing out in all directions and with a force that can floor you.

The wild-haired, wild-bearded, wild-minded comic owes a debt to Harry Hill, a dash of Andy Kaufman too, but supercharges their off-the-wall style to make it his own with a full-on assault of puns, props, musical stings and random ideas.

Occasionally amid all this madness, Currie takes pause to reflect on our toxic behaviour to each other and to the planet. Yet this earnest message never jars with the off-the-wall sketches. These moments offer brief respite from the surreal onslaught but never slow the pace of the show.

Both aspects come together in a musical number incorporating comedy headgear and members of the audience, which is a powerful, bleak satire in the finest spirit of Weimar cabaret. Though that’s surely far too pretentious a reference to apply to a show that features puppet huskies, asparagus-based film parodies, Muppets and a history of colonisation as told only through the word ‘potato’.

Its a wild ride for sure, and a thrilling one. Never does Currie let his clowning get self-indulgent, as there’s an unspoken tongue-in-cheek recognition of how preposterous this all is, without ever undermining the total commitment he has to every madly original scene. 

With a cheery demeanour to underpin the madness, Currie is eager to invite audiences into his world. No pressure – just go with it and be amply rewarded.

• Paul Currie: Teet is at the Hive at 7pm until August 29, not Wednesdays.

Review date: 16 Aug 2021
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: The Hive