Simon Jenkins Plus One – Fringe 2009
Live Review

With two feisty, inebriated ladies unavoidable in the middle of the front row, this was certainly a rowdy gig for a relative newcomer to have to deal with. And they weren’t the only ones trying to join in the show and phones were going off left, right and centre. Nevertheless it made for interesting and relatively harmless extra entertainment as Jenkins proved an underwhelming comic presence.

The 21-year-old only has a couple of years experience of the comedy circuit, with a TV crew for the Channel 4’s Year Dot series having followed him round for half that time. Now, as that year comes to a close, Jenkins says he has gone professional as a comedian – but he has sufficient insight into his abilities to realise that he’s not up to full-length Fringe alone, so has a special guest to perform a ten minute set.

Jenkins’ stage presence is an assured one, which isn’t a bad start. But his inexperience shows when he begins to struggle with the crowd. On more than one occasion he stands on stage threatening to answer the ringing phones but then does nothing. If you’re going to issue a threat like that you really need to go through with it.

Then when he gets round to his material it’s mediocre and lacking in punchlines. He also needs to watch his timing. The show is advertised as lasting a full hour, in total Jenkins performed for around 25 minutes but even including the guest slot (tonight the solid Maff Brown) it’s a seriously truncated show.

Jenkins would do well to step away from the limelight that the Channel 4 show has prematurely given him and crack on with getting gig experience, watching other comedians and writing some stronger material.