Des Clarke kicks his show off with a joke about being a rare Scot at the Fringe, followed by a few more wisecracks, then chatting about where the audience are from. He's got lots of gags on places around Scotland and also talks about his work on Scottish TV - from a dating show to the 'devolved' Children in Need. Many of his gags are slightly lazy Scots stereotypes - Glasgow being hard, drug addiction, and deep-frying everything, but they go down well. At the end of this segment, he announces that the whole audience are now adopted as Scots for the purposes of his show. It's never quite clear why.

He then moves onto the Destiny theme - not, he makes clear, as one reviewer thought, Des Tiny. He kicks the theme off via Govern, the area of Glasgow where he grew up, with an arts festival aimed at Americans, allowing him to try out, and then mock, his American accent. For the show, someone recommended he see a fortune teller, and explaining this visit, with various funny detours, takes up most of the rest of the show. Somehow detours include his involvement in the recent competitions phone-in scandal - when no one actually wanted the prize, but a made up place name gave it away. Another detour is the Neighbours character of the same name, from his childhood, along with a legal battle with the London comic Des Clark (no E). There are a few scattered puns that illicit a range of laughs and groans - but they're quick-fire, so even those who don't like puns much can't really mind.

A key point about this fortune teller - which shows this is a freshly written show - is she failed to mention how close he'd come to the Glasgow Airport attacks. Another winding detour is Irn Bru and haggis (now deep-fried), then the new Parliament building, and celebrities on drugs. Back at the fortune teller, it's generic advice. 'When did you realise you were starting to get older?' leads to bad Xmas present reminisces, and the pet goldfish's death. The fortune teller's 'You have the look of a traveller' allows for Scots 'Doctor Who' gags, while lucky colours green and blue get sarcasm.

Des Clarke also talks about his life now - moving to London, a steady girlfriend, and Scotland's once-a-year moments of being in the news. He's got gags on the effect of the smoking ban, and his former IT job. Returning to theme, the fortune teller regresses him, but he's not terribly impressed by the results. She also says you 'just never know what's round the corner' - which gets the scorn it deserves. Then he returns to his near-miss of the airport attack. Lenny Henry's changed tour dates meant his flight was altered.

Somehow suicidal Muslims lead on to a hilarious description of Cliff Richard, and some witty lines on Scottish music, from Flower of Scotland to the Proclaimers. Back on 3-11 as he refers to Glasgow's attack (based on the time of it), he somehow tidies his themes up, and says Destiny isn't written yet, despite the fact that this show appears to be well-written, and has had enough good edits to ensure a highly entertaining way to spend an hour.

Some of his themes - whether Scotland, travel, texting, or sex toys - aren't all that new. But they're all done well, in a sense of fun, with some nice moments of reincorporation, and at such a pace that if that gag doesn't impress, the next one's along at break-neck speed.

Credits: Written & performed by Des Clarke. Technical Operator - Doug Cox.

END

(c) Gill Smith 2007

reviewed August 07 / Pleasance Courtyard

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008