Comedy: Wild front ear
Celebrating the spirit of those pioneering comedians that think of something brand spanking new
Every now and then, something so new comes along that all you can do is scratch your head and be glad that you got to see it at all. Sometimes it gets bigger and then everyone sees it, and then starts saying how they had thought of it first (just look at any of Michael McIntyre’s well-crafted gags and try to remember what you called the drawer for Sellotape before he told you about his ‘man drawer’), and sometimes they shine and then disappear like a bubble blown in the garden on a summer’s day.
George Egg’s show is definitely not the latter. I know this because it has already been nominated, earlier this year, for the Best Comedy Show in the Brighton Fringe. That doesn’t mean it’ll be filling stadiums this time next year either, with scores of people mocking his floppy hair (or lack thereof).
It does mean it’s something new. It also means that it sparkles.
No longer lamenting the transient life of the stand-up comedian, as many comics do, but adapting to it with real aplomb – George Egg takes his surroundings, rejects the fast food and motorway service station lifestyle, and carves a new way of living and performing.
Want to know how? Egg describes it best: “During the one-hour show, I cook on stage a three course meal using just the equipment you’ll find in a hotel – iron, kettle, trouser press, mini bar, hairdryer etc. And then the audience get to eat the food at the end.” And thus the sparkle.
Added sprinkles come in the fact that Egg has lived in Brighton for 22 years, allowing us to adopt his creativity and pretend it’s in some way connected to living in our unorthodox hub, when really we have to admit it’s all him.
Comedy is the best medium because it allows for shows like this to develop and shine. Also, it attracts and ignites the creative juices in other comedians, feeding into the magical hubbub that brings us nights like ‘Gittins To Know You’ (recently seeing Harry Hill joining the anarchic quiz show panel) and ‘Ski, Two, One’ With Flange Krammer, co-hosted for a while by Game Of Thrones star and comedian Gemma Whelan.
So celebrate the something-new and the wonderfully off-the-wall, and grab some grub with George Egg. And thank him at the end. It’s the new ideas that keep us coming back for more.
George Egg: Anarchist Cook, Bar Broadway, 9pm, Wednesday 29 & Thursday 30 October, £8.50/7, www.brightoncomedyfringe.co.uk
