Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Edinburgh Reviews #2: Norman Lovett's Slideshow


Norman Lovett’s Slide Show
Company: Norman Lovett
Venue: Pleasance – Above
Date: 21 Aug '07

This show is exactly what it sounds like; Lovett has taken his camera around with him in his everyday life for about a year, taking pictures of things he found notable, or (often) annoying. The result is two carousels of 35mm slides, and an hour long chat through them. His material centres on quite an “old-man” set of little fixations: chewing gum on pavements, pretentious shops, gadgets he has bought for his home, etc. In spite of this, he doesn’t come across as a whinging old git – a testament to his charm as a stand-up. I laughed quite a lot during the show, but Lovett seemed disappointed with the audience’s reaction that day overall (a comment he expanded on afterwards when signing DVDs). I can only say that his brand of humour invites the audience not so much to laugh uproariously than to sit back and have a good chuckle. Personally, I thought it was a really lovely show, and every bit as funny in its way as anything I saw. It was only marred, slightly, by Lovett’s occasional irritable remarks about the Pleasance’s staff.

4/5

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