Carey Marx: The Doom Gloom Boom – Fringe 2009
Live Review

Carey Marx brings to mind an old-fashioned comic-book schoolboy. The sort of slightly naughty mischief who, after being caught using his catapult to scrump apples from the tress in the local orchard, would put on his most innocent doe-eyed look and shrug from beneath his cutely lopsided school cap that it wasn’t him. Only instead of scrumping apples, Marx cracks gags about buggering cows or the proper usage of the c-word.

But that way of softening the unpleasant is the only gimmick in an uncomplicated hour of spiky routines about topical issues, matching gags to political points.

You can see an intellectual obsession with crafting the perfect joke at work; as Carey is clearly fascinated by their form. He even manages to get a new twist on the ‘waiter, waiter, there’s a fly in my soup’ feedline, though the image that leads us here is hardly salubrious. Such a mechanical approach does mean the show’s soul is elusive, but the laughs never are, as Marx is clearly a top-drawer writer, combining intelligent comment with teasingly edgy wit.

The theory around which this all hangs is that a bit of recession might be good for us, to lessen the drive to acquire more and more things the planet can’t provide. Then, via the almost obligatory Susan Boyle routine, he moves on to clearly heartfelt material about the increasing erosion of our liberties through such authoritarian moves as ID cards or email snooping, all under the dubious excuse of ‘preventing terrorism’. Preventing you putting your plastics in your glass recycling bag, more like.

But it’s not all so campaigning. He’s as obsessed with what he charmingly calls ‘bum sex’ as he is with issues, which means the hour moves with seamless ease from the puerile to the political, from the whimsical to the sick, and always with cheeky charm and powerful punchlines.

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Absolutly amazing ,a brilliant act - possibly up there as one of the best stands ups I've seen

Matt, December 2005

Saw him in Birmingham last night. Not sure about the Albino stuff - even though it's not technically racist, the thinking behind it is kind of similar. But he was the only one there to get me laughing like an idiot.

Charlie, May 2005

Another funny guy with dreadful material. Came on stage and read his mail out, it wasn't even interesting let alone funny. Name dropping is another unfunny habit of his, who cares about the 'really really funny comedians' he lives with...which is probably where the problem lies, try your new material out on someone else, I hate to see talent wasted.

Bill, May 2005

Quite easily the funniest comedian I've ever had the good fortune to see live

Wilkinson, May 2005

Like many others, I saw Carey at the Leeds festval and loved the fact that he spoke his mind rather that being all PC.

Paul, April 2005

Best act of the night, the whole snowman part was hilarious, and just the parts that he came out with were shocking but you have to laugh. Great act.

James, December 2004

Saw him in Bracknell. Very dark, very funny. Good end to a good night. Particularly liked the way he dealt with that irritating drunk woman

Tom F, November 2004

Saw Carey at Reading Festival. He was my favourite comedian, hilarious and unexpected punchlines. To the person critizising his Albino hatred as hateful, it's all tongue-in-cheek. At one point in his show he made fun of a lady in one of his audiences who took him seriously and told him after the show "I'm glad somebody's finally doing something about the albino problem in this country". If you see him live he is very funny and not at all offensive compared to other comedians I have seen.

Cavy, September 2004

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