Jon Pointing @ Pleasance Courtyard
Learn how to be an actor with Jon Pointing and his alter ego Cayden Hunter
Jon Pointing gives an impressive performance as self-righteous, egotistical acting coach Cayden Hunter in Act Natural.
Seemingly drawing on his own experiences of acting workshops, Pointing mocks the pretentiousness of the craft and those who study it. The concept of the show is that we, the audience, are Hunter’s students, witnessing a self-proclaimed triple threat at work and, naturally, we are to feel privileged to have been given the honour to learn from him.
Pointing depicts the character brilliantly, right down to Hunter’s movements and mannerisms; he realises the actor stereotype through him. There is a particularly funny moment when Hunter goes off on a rant about a chair being more than a chair and Pointing perfectly grasps the melodrama of it all.
At times, the show can feel overly-scripted, which causes some confusion for the audience, who too frequently seem unable to decipher what is meant to be a joke and what’s not. The script, however, is clever and Pointing’s performance is flawless. The irony of it all is that Pointing is a talented actor – and probably the kind of actor Hunter thinks himself to be.
Jon Pointing: Act Natural, Pleasance Courtyard (Below), until 27 Aug (not 14), 7.15pm, £8-11