Show Details
Russell Howard: Adventures
Show type: Edinburgh Fringe 2007
Starring Comic:
Russell Howard

Russell Howard: Adventures


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Description

Nominated for the prestigious if.comeddie Award with his third sell-out solo Edinburgh show, award-winning comedian and the star of BBC 6 Music, BBC TWO’s Mock The Week and Never Mind The Buzzcocks Russell Howard returns to the Fringe with his unique banter-filled brand of comedy.

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Reviews

Original Review:

Show Rating:Russell Howard: Adventures rated 4/5

I can’t really do much better in describing Russell Howard than his own mother’s review, after seeing him perform stand-up live for the first time. ‘You’re a bit like a child telling people about a day out at the zoo,’ she said, and you can understand why. Like an overactive youngster, his delivery is so enthused at the various exciting thing he just has to impart, he can’t actually muster the patience to stick on one subject for long as the next one’s already knocking at his brain.

It makes for a dynamic, fluid show as he flits distractedly around the topics - plus you can’t help but share his gusto for life. This appealing energy is backed up by a great use of obscure, sometimes archaic language and imagry, delivered with the unconvincing posture of an Edwardian gentleman or street-cool kid, either of which he might adopt with a charming lack of conviction.

His is a world of ‘duplicitous sphincters’, ‘radiator pants’ and ‘human Buckaroo’ – fusing ideas and words not always meant to be together to create a vibrancy in the language to match his spirited delivery.

It’s not all loose frippery and half-remembered nonsense, however. Howard has got some sterling set pieces of laugh-aloud brilliance. His all-purpose newspaper review, especially was a wonder.

This pivotal routine provides a clue to the theme of his show, at least as much of a theme as such a scattergun offering can possibly have. He wants to urge us all not to see the world through the warped prism of a media that paints the world as a dangerous place that you would be foolhardy to interact with.

Real life is experiences, adventures, if you will, which Howard encourages you to encounter for yourself. Hardly a groundbreaking philosophy, but one he appears to practice, and a convenient peg for what could otherwise be a very disparate, but equally funny, stand-up hour.

It culminates in a comedy equivalent of Reasons To Be Cheerful, as Howard racks his brain to think of joyful experiences to tell to a potential suicide victim he would miss. Howard’s own show would easily earn a place in any such list.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
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Comments

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What's his best joke? The one about the bad tabloid story he read? His is an arsebrain who is famous but not for being funny.

Sean, November 2011

This guy barely even tells jokes, he just shouts about things and acts like a dick without delivering a punchline, or anything clever. Also his impressions are annoying and bad. He tries to spice things up by adding a bit of foul language here and there and it's just badly placed, no thought and no point. You can see his desperation to be funny. I don't understand why he is on TV so much alongside the actual comedians out there. Shocking.

Luke, September 2011

Sorry, but the chap is just not funny! Unfortunately, he cockily thinks he is. I don't watch anything with him in it. Change of career would be good advice me thinks!

Ian, September 2011

People only laugh at this bloke out of pity. The sooner he is taken of our TV screens the better

E.J., October 2010

Shit jokes by a shit comedian. Why do people (mainly 12-16 years olds) find his out of the norm jokes funny?

Tommy Wilson, May 2010

He is appalling, he even looks unsure when telling his jokes. Timing is poor, delivery nervous and exaggerated. Plays the safe left wing card but still fails.

JRW, March 2010

I lived outside of the UK for a couple of years and when I came back this guy all over a few of the UK channels. What happened? Most of my the people in my regular life are funnier than this guy, why is is he on TV? Please Russell Howard fans point me to his funniest moments and enlighten me why he is a comedian.

Matt, March 2010

Bloody crap, his jokes are shit all he does is shout! Not funny at all.

lee, January 2010

Awful.

Awful, June 2009

Russell's energy and charisma mean that even with the sound off he would be hilarious. This show was his best yet and was presented in Russell's own special way. Very, very good.

Emily Victoria, May 2008

Russell Howard bored the pants off of me for an hour. Rubbish. He's terrible on Mock the Week too.

Ed H, January 2008

Amazing energy and bounce. His facial expressions and body positions were hilarious, especially the Catwalk Dinosaurs, Stegosaurus was very amusing but the very camped up T-Rex who could scratch his belly was very funny. Definitely worth going to see live.

Lisa, November 2007

I found Russell extremely funny, as did the two people I went with. His obscure sources of humour and the energy he has on stage is really great. In my opinion he is very deserving of his success.

HMP, November 2007

This show sucked! Please for the love of god - and comedy - stop the sucking. What a complete waste of time and money. I thought I had come to a comedy festival - not a blabbering, rambling, jokeless, completely excruciating one hour shit fest. I want my money back

Rob, August 2007

Excellent show again. Four years in a row and he's great on Mock The Week and on his radio show. Keep it up Russ, you're an excellent comic.

dave, August 2007

This show was amazingly funny and mad, his attitude and expressions alone were enough to make me laugh. it was very clever in being totally mussed up so it was like he was having a conversation with you and trying to tell you about his day but he never left a story unfinished. it was stuff I could relate to anyway. Maybe that's what people don't get, he's too happy, but i don't like comedians who just complain about stuff and claim that's funny.

r, August 2007

Russell Howard is funny? Really? This reviewer must either have taste buds up his ass or be a friend of Russell Howard's... for the past several years I have endured the hype surrounding this idiots shows (hype being the ridiculous amount of posters put up around the festival by his management team) but no more. Russell Howard is about as funny as a child with cancer - in his mother's words - "at the zoo". I get it, he looks good - but he should take acting lessons and leave stand-up comedy for people who know how to craft and deliver jokes. Honestly Russell - if you're reading this and I hope you are - your comedy sucks and please your young enough to find another career and old enough to know when it's time to stop wasting everyone's time.

Ted, August 2007

Hmmm... I beg to differ with this reviewer. If I was about to commit suicide I think I would take the opportunity to take this comic who had just wasted an hour of my life down with me. Someone should tell him that saying lots of long words in succession does not comedy make.

Pete, August 2007

A wonderfully delightful bullet train of humour is the only way to describe Russell Howard. He's sleek, quick and reliably funny, and he can squeeze every joke that presents itself from one badly timed and/or phrased jeer. Don't be tempted, and don't look like Sean Connery! Be sharp because this guy won't stop with the jokes until the night's over. Catch him, if you can!

M.Tse, August 2007

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