At BBC Comedy Presents

Edinburgh 2010

More Edward Aczel videos

Edward Aczel is a project manager for a marketing company in Aylesbury, who has been performing comedy in his spare time since 2005. He has been runner-up in the BBC New Comedy Awards (2005) and semi-finalist in So You Think You’re Funny (2006). More recently he has appeared on Radio 4’s Loose Ends, Happy Mondays, Pick of the Week and 28 Acts in 28 Minutes.

Edward Aczel Doesn’t Exist
Live Review

Not so much a show, this, as a test of will. Can you remain entertained by Edward Aczel’s dry-as-dust stand-up even though he wilfully shuns any sense of presentation, let alone showmanship. With an act that’s more lull than LOL, this could be the longest 55 minutes of your life.

This artisan of anti-comedy delivers the full hour in a dreary monotone, barely above a whisper, as what he’s saying is often repeated in dull black-and-white PowerPoint slides. Is this a sharp satire on comics who uses such technological whistles and bells to try to elevate pedestrian material, or is it just boring? Who knows.

Certainly a few people here didn’t get the joke, with one man berating Aczel for not being able to work off-the-cuff when he was reading one segment from his sheath of notes. That the disgruntled punter, who walked out with his mates, appeared to have got in on a venue pass, which makes his interruption unforgivable, no matter how much he disliked the show.

The slides explain his career aims; as this is allegedly a presentation to explain why this mild-mannered middle manager would be an asset to any comedy project. He’s got a process flow diagram showing how he can become bigger than McIntyre, then further frames telling us how, for example, he would make an impact on any TV panel show.

Amid the pitch is a catalogue of bizarre yet dull pilot ideas, such as Edward Aczel: Time Travelling Mediator. Straightforward lists are the best way for Aczel to showcase his odd sense of humour – the bizarre aliases he suggests for himself in his rider are particularly silly – and there are some gems here. Mind you, none of these are unlikely as Claudia O’Doherty’s What Is Soil Erosion?, a genuine Fringe show.

As well as showcasing his competence, Edward Aczel Doesn’t Exist also serves as a masterclass – or at least a class – in stand-up, so we get advice from mic technique to heckler putdowns invoking how fat his antagonist’s momma might be. The irony of such a miserable performer telling anyone what to do doesn’t need to be spelled out.

For all the spurning of comedy convention, there are actually some jokes here – aside from the big one that is his entire stage persona. One particular story, involving characters in their various hats, evokes then undermines an old Tommy Cooper sketch. But – guess what – it goes on way too long.

More than Cooper, though, Aczel is in the spirit of Ted Chippington, the listless, monotonous early alternative comedian who so inspired Stewart Lee. The problem with such anti-comedy is that it’s a nice concept but often unbearable in reality, and Aczel flirts with both in a show that’s fitfully hilarious, but equally very draining.

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Sam and Jude. Oh dear. You are both wrong. So very, very wrong. Ed Aczel is hilarious. I cried with laughter the first time I saw him. And the second. And I look forward to doing the same when I see him next. Ed Aczel is amazing!

Ali, November 2009

I agree with Jude. Having seen the show I can't help thinking that this is all some kind of mad conspiracy, a practical joke on the general public thought up in a pub in Edinburgh by a bunch of bored comedians - 'eh, I bet we can get them to think a pile of crap is great if we load it down with enough plaudits and describe it as groundbreaking!'. I'm all for different, but this was just one joke - 'isnt it funny how utterly unprepared and unscripted I can be and get away with it'. And it was never that funny a joke to begin with. Being not very good isn't funny or clever, and to suggest otherwise is to discredit all the excellent work which goes into making good stand-up great.

Sam, June 2009

I obviously didn't get this one. I've seen plenty of standup but this was just awful, embarrassing, cringe-worthy. I'm convinced I heard nothing but awkward laughs from the audience. If it isn't bad enough he actually gives a running count down of how long left you'll be subjected to his show. There's alternative and then there's poor, this is not worth your time or money.

Jude, January 2009

Makes you doubt everything you thought you knew about comedy. About life, actually... There's no reason why he should be so funny, but he is. Had me in stitches and everyone else too.

Michael Monkhouse, May 2008

Saw him at the Hen & Chicken last Monday- absolutely brilliant. We were in utter hysterics for the whole of the show. Will definitely try and see him again!

Richard, April 2008

Saw him on Jimmy Carrs's DVD and ended up blowing Fanta out my nose. The most hilarious act around

mad_s..., December 2007

Ed Aczel is either one of the world's greatest comedy legends or severely mental. I really can't tell whether he does it on purpose or not. But It's brilliant.

Tom, October 2007

I saw Ed Aczel in Edinburgh and he was so funny. A genius. Can't wait to see him again. He is fantastic. Don't miss him if he is on near you.

Fiona, September 2007

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4