Gordon Southern

Note: This review is from 2001

Review by Steve Bennett

How familiar this situation is becoming - another reasonable comic overstretching himself with an hour-long show containing about half an hour's material.

A one-man show should strive to be a real event with a proper sense of occasion, not just an extended set. Expectations are highe, and there needs to be a real sense of structure - meaning more than the odd use of the tried and tested callback trick of referring to previous gags.

Likeable Southern gets a decent laugh on more than one occasion (though you probably won't need more than two hands to count them) thanks to his whimsical comments on the most familiar of topics - flat-sharing, pornography, service stations - all hung on the loose theme of loneliness. But there's a fine line between talking about universal experiences and just regurgitating familiar observations - and Southern walks it shakily.

It's not a terrible show, but it is a pretty insignificant one.

Review date: 1 Jan 2001
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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