Mawaan Rizwan @ Laughing Horse, Dropkick Murphy's

Gender Neutral Concubine Pirate made for a surprisingly enjoyable hour. A bombastic spike on the free fringe, Mawaan Rizwan hams it up in a show of little meaning but a lot of laughs. It isn’t perfect, but is at least a step in the right direction toward getting Rizwan’s name out into the public domain.

The idea of the show, that Mawaan identifies as a gender neutral concubine pirate, may either put punters off or fill them with intrigue and take a risk on it. The curious will be truly rewarded. Particularly if they enjoy thrusting, impressions of trampolines and baby wipes. Oh, and plenty of sordid audience interaction.

Unfortunately, some of the audience participation made for uncomfortable viewing and the laughs were occasionally fearful ones, not resulting in those elicited by interactive masters (see Neal Portenza for a masterclass). Also, as is too often the case on non-ticketed shows, the act was slightly let down by lack of creative control over the venue. However, I did enjoy the juxtaposition of such a huge personality contained in a rather dank room, and luckily this disadvantage did not hinder the show too much.