Comedy in the Dark

Comedy in the Dark is what it says on the tin. Whilst there’s a little bit of light as acts come on and off stage, the room is pitch dark – trusty helpers are employed to cover the fire exits signs (to be uncovered swiftly in case of genuine emergency) and you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s a fun and innovative premise, and one that’s exploited by the comics to varying effect.

Compere Jim Smallman introduces the night in an amiable enough fashion, drawing predictable but well-delivered banter out of the situation we’re all in. The first act on stage then repeats some of this – proving that acts should always listen to the compere. Next, Mark Olver quickly decides that his material isn’t suited to the environment, and that it would be more hilarious to climb through the audience in the dark. In fact this swings between boring and dangerous.

It’s James Acaster who is the clear star of the show. Whilst he loses some of the late night audience with the experimental nature of his material, to the more sober amongst us he proves victoriously that comedy really is all in the delivery.

Although tonight’s comics largely fail to properly explore the opportunities presented by the set-up, the line-up that changes nightly, and it’s well worth checking out as a proper Fringe experience.