Original Review:

You can forgive him, then, for not writing much new stand-up material in that time, leaving this Brighton Fringe show as a greatest hits package with tried-and-tested routines from his back catalogue. But even if he has been away for a while, he’s certainly not become rusty, and still remains furiously passionate about all the injustices that get his liberal middle-class goat.

It’s a good job he’s got that energy, because this Udderbelly audience need a lot of convincing to join his bandwagon. He rants in polite, eloquent but heartfelt desperation at the way of things, putting heart and soul into the animated, but exasperated performance. He flits around the stage manically, but even though jokes are good, it’s definitely an uphill battle for Addison to win the responses he deserves.

Only about halfway through the hour does the chill finally thaw, and the laughs start flowing more fluidly. It’s proof, if nothing else, that persistence pays, and eventually the strength of Addison’s convictions turn the gig into something of a political rally for Guardian readers, which is the tone he’s always seeking.

As well as the power of the delivery, his other great weapon is a brilliantly precise use of language, elevating everyday observations into sharp, witty turns of phrase. When he describes Natasha Kaplinsky, for example, as ‘skin stretched over ambition’, it captures her image perfectly and pithily.

There’s a sarcasm in his attitude that’s brought out in quite childish ways, as he extrapolates simple bugbears to silly, imaginative conclusions. But the erudition of the writing, combined with his foppish la-di-da persona, give the ridiculous an air of gravitas.

Tonight’s gig may have been essentially a limbering-up exercise for Addison to prepare his stand-up muscles for a more concerted return to the circuit, but it still showed just how accomplished and talented a performer he is – even after his two-year sabbatical.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Brighton, May 2008