Teddy

Original Review:

Although still in his twenties, Teddy’s been on the Scottish scene, on and off, for a decade, which goes a long way to explaining his ease on stage. He still looks wide-eyed and naïve, but don’t let that fool you – behind the slightly daffy smile is some viciously hard-edged material. He’s a strong gag writer, and even when tackling subjects as seemingly tired as Heather Mills, he can find a new angle that’s not dependent on the obvious.

Controversial Scottish Socialist Tommy Sheridan is the butt of a particularly fine routine, and the entire city of Glasgow gets an affectionate pasting, too.

In another routine, there is an engaging honesty about his tales of ill-conceived attempts to negotiate the ethical and erotic minefield of a quick shag with the friend he’d long been secretly in love with. There’s vulnerability as well as wit in this tale, which takes several minutes to tell – and his attempts to talk dirty despite his middle-class reservations work very well.

His often sick material won’t be to everyone’s taste, but he doesn’t care, and skilfully rides the audience’s apparent disgust at some of the darker lines, ordering them to just ‘toughen up’ and live with it. Such confidence, backed with pin-sharp lines, make him a class act. Date of review: Sep 2008

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