Ben Fogg @ Pleasance Courtyard
Ben Fogg's solo Fringe hour is a show that cannot compete with its creator's ego
To call your show How I Won Best Newcomer 2017 is a bold gambit. Sadly, it needs to be deployed with more gusto to be effective than it is here. The show's theme is success, but more broadly it is to live your life as if you might die tomorrow. After a fun ‘human blackout’, Fogg begins to reel off his achievements. Most sound unbelievable, but he assures us he's done them. However, this arrogance isn't mocked at all; you're simply expected to side with Fogg and his privileged lifestyle, instead of thinking him a dickhead.
A confrontation mid-way through has the audience breaking out into quiet murmurings: "Is this really happening?" Ploy or not, no-one would blame the techie walking out simply for having enough of Fogg and his haughtiness. It is then revealed this is a ‘Dead Dad’ show; a genre mockingly revered among comedians for winning the big Fringe awards. Without wanting to sound insensitive, there is little sympathy to be had for Fogg in this circumstance, especially when this theme is becoming like a tired parody of the Fringe.
It is an incongruous hour of few jokes carried by an uneasy sense that Fogg might just be as arrogant as he appears.
Ben Fogg: How I Won Best Newcomer 2017, Pleasance Courtyard (Below) until 28 Aug (not 14), 4.45pm, £7-12