The Giants of Comedy are (alpha order) Leo Kearse, Lindsay Sharman, Darren Walsh. The name doesn't come from their fame in comedy, but from their physical height. It is not an exaggeration. Darren Walsh on stage is perilously close to the ceiling.

Compere Ben Woolrych tries hard, but unfortunately his material is obvious. Although he manages to improvise a funny joke about his dog, he continues to struggle throughout the evening.

Lindsay Sharman says she 'decided to be posh at age 8 and never stopped.' This pseudo-posh persona is the basis of a set which is apparently focused on her own life and specifically her relationship with her mother. Not helped by the poor start, she becomes nervous and some strong material is lost to a rushed and garbled delivery. In particular a running gag about her mother being too embarrassed to say rude words is ruined, as the rude words themselves cannot be understood. It's not a strong set.

Leo Kearse is a strong performer and delivers a good set. Starting as he means to go on with a series of gags about his testicles and sex tourism, he maintains a good mix between shorter and longer material and manages to have offensive jokes comes across as amiable and unthreatening. His material at times seems rather dated in time - he has a gag about (former UK prime minister) Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy (a UK citizen who accosted him while he was canvassing votes) for example. He is not the most original - nor potentially to everyone's taste - but he gets an atmosphere going and keeps this up throughout his 15-minute slot.

Darren Walsh is the most polished of the three Giants. He combines props-based gags with longer routines based on sound effects and songs which he triggers using his foot. His timing needs to be (and is) razor-sharp, and he is an energetic and compelling performer. The material itself is largely surreal and disjointed. In the early stages of the set this is fine. But half-way through he says 'it's going to get a bit weird'. This is true to word, and from this point the material becomes far more difficult to follow - it was weird enough before. It should be noted that Darren Walsh's set contains what must surely be one of the least offensive and funniest Jewish jokes.

The show lasts significantly less than the advertised hour. There is some decent material in that short space of time and both Leo Kearse and Darren Walsh provide good entertainment. But overall, Giants of Comedy is sparse and unessential.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Leo Kearse - Performer. Lindsay Sharman - Performer. Darren Walsh - Performer. Ben Woolrych - Performer.

Company Credits: Writer - uncredited. Director - uncredited. Technical Operator - (none). Producer - uncredited. Company - Giants Of Comedy. Website - www.giantsofcomedy.co.uk.

END

(c) George Maddocks 2011

reviewed Wednesday 10 August 2011 / Fingers Piano Bar, Edinburgh, UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com