Show Rating:

Total recall it is. Obie has returned for his second year on the Fringe with the same show, same material and same party-trick conclusion.

He is an engaging performer with a nicely skewed approach to his observations wondering if bestiality is acceptable if you are a vegetarian, if the Irish came to Britain during the potato famine because we have better Tescos, and a very nice routine examining the similarities between taxi drivers and hookers.

These warped little dalliances to the edge of good taste make Obie an interesting act but he sometimes looses his footing and stumbles when searching for a way out of a joke, ending several stories with the line ‘so I stabbed him...’

There are numerous moments where the opportunity is there for him to get the big payoff, but he seems blind to the even the most obvious outs which frustrates me and, at times, seems to embarrass him.

His parlour trick game based on his ‘photographic’ memory could have gone smoother. The idea is that he will improvise a story around some of the 300 suggestions he has gathered from different audiences over the past year. This gimmick would be great if his memory held up under the pressure – and if he could improve his improv skills, which are sorely lacking.

He is a true Weegie chancer grabbing the laughs from swearing and jobbie jokes and winning the forgiving audience over with the charisma he possesses in spades.

But he is going to have to return with something much stronger and fresher next year if he is to live up to the potential that he occasionally displays.

Reviewed by: Corry Shaw