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Stephen Grant - Life's Too Short
Verdict: High-energy, fast comedy
Edinburgh 06 - Gilded Balloon Teviot - 6-27 August 06 - 20:45 (1:00)
Smiley and friendly Stephen Grant bounces on stage and gets someone in the front row to nominate the person they're with as a pedant - tonight it's Linda.
Stephen Grant says the show comes from getting thrown out of a restaurant. He queried the 'authentic Italian 12-inch pizzas' on offer - given that Italy uses the metric system. He says his wife asks: why pick fights? - life’s too short. After comic detail of his 5 fights, he claims he isn't argumentative - just competitive.
There's inspired material on the imperial system. He says that Americans opted for larger weights, smaller fluid measures - making the British thinner, but more drunk. There are funny pedantry points - such as the trend for giving anything from 110% to 300% performance, and the lyrics of Unchained Melody. He cites the 'pedantry point of no return' - correcting the grammar of a poorly punctuated racist comment in a toilet cubicle; and going back months later to check the responses.
Stephen Grant says that the passing of time changes with age - and it's vanity, not time, that everyone's looking for. His solutions include sleeping less, moving quicker, avoiding tautologies, and skipping pleasantries – but only once you've established youre a nice person.
Other topics include courtesies in 999 calls, stopping smoking, obesity, odd diets, his great grandfather's inventions and his own, the environment, the value of the soul. It's a high-energy, fast, show packed full of gags – easily one of the best ways to spend an hour in Edinburgh.
Cast Credits: Stephen Grant
Company Credits: Writer / Director - Stephen Grant. Technician - Will Todd. Producers - Christian Knowles at CKP & Gilded Balloon. Company - Goldman King & CKP by arrangement with Lisa White. EdFringe Programme note - Adult content
END
(c) Gill Smith 2006
reviewed Tuesday 22 August 06 / Gilded Balloon Teviot
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008
