Dane Baptiste @ Pleasance Courtyard
A high-reaching hour from Dane Baptiste
Lofty ambitions are present here for a mere stand-up set, as Dane Baptiste attempts a treatise on what he sees as Planet Earth’s new triumvirate of new religions: Gold, Oil and Drugs. They certainly make a handy go-to acronym, tying his multiple threads together and helping ease the audience into the dense but very strong first section of the show.
It is here where the best material should shine – a dissection of the economic and environmental impact of TLC’s No Scrubs, and a breakdown of how money’s behaviour mimics that of an absent father are extremely funny, but unfortunately it takes Baptiste some time to begin to confidently handle some of this material. This leaves the hard work in the hands of the audience and thankfully they are more than willing to step up, with Baptiste clearly an intelligent and thoughtful student of the human condition.
When he does pick up the pace and energy it is only in time for the latter part of the hour which centres on drugs and varying levels of evil, but unfortunately the weaker material leaves a sense of an uneven show.
Dane Baptiste: G.O.D. (Gold. Oil. Drugs.), Pleasance Courtyard (Above), until 27 Aug (not 16), 9pm, £10-14