Review by Steve Bennett

Rarely does a comic expend so much effort, energy and imagination to so little effect as Spencer Brown.

He certainly has all the makings of a great comic - he can craft splendid one-liners and silly but clever visual gags which, combined with his immense enthusiasm and drive, will engage any audience.

But he has nowhere near an hour's worth of material, so relies on theatrical staging and an over-elaborate plot structure to try to provide some feeling of content.

At least he tries, which is more than many comedians would do, but we are left with a show awkwardly placed between stand-up and a sort of one-man sketch show, and not really funny enough for either.

Introducing himself with the sort of wild and crazy build-up that would suit an American stadium tour than a half-empty Edinburgh venue - even when done with irony - Brown soon eases into a traditional monologue.

And, at best, this is his strongest suit. Though the material can be variable, there are some inspired gags and delightfully daft routines about, for example, the stool pigeon.

But when this gives way to stories of time machines, bald evil Twins and the destruction of the planet, things go awry.

All this nonsense does provide the framework for a handful of inspired and inventive visual jokes, hilarious for totally wrong-footing your expectations.

But the slick staging - down to split-second dialogues between Spencer and his on-screen alter ego - ruins the illusion of spontaneity inherent in stand-up. And it slows down the gag rate considerably.

While cross-fertilisation of genres is usually to be welcomed, it would also be nice for Brown to use his brilliant imagination to concentate either on stand-up or on a full theatrical show - rather than this hybrid that falls uneasily between two stools.

Review date: 1 Jan 2002
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett