Pool Of Life

Note: This review is from 2005

Review by Steve Bennett

Keith Carter is one of Britain’s premier live character comedians, with a clear talent for versatile acting and multi-functional writing.  But in this showcase of three personas, not one truly shines through, leaving the distinct impression that this showcase is not quite the right vehicle for him.

Introduced by the over-emphatic agent Terry Diamond, played with suitable aggression by stand-up Dave Dynamite, the show plays out like a guide through the musical open mic and club circuits of Liverpool. 

It introduces old  favourite scally-cum-indie-rock-star Nige, as well as new faces  Colin Kilkenny, a club singer, and Gerald Roberts, driver to the stars.  Each character is given about 15 minutes to prove themselves, but unfortunately it is not enough to either fully establish them in the audience’s minds or properly accentuate their hinted depth.

Nige is quite easily the best conceived of Carter’s repertoire, interesting enough to challenge preconceptions whilst also managing to avoid the clichés that could be associated with such a ‘chav’ character. 

Rather than creating comedy through stereotypical behaviour, Nige has these alternate outbursts of aggression and sadness that suggest much more than meets the eye.  His songs – which are simultaneously bitter attacks and melancholy outbursts of loneliness – go some way to articulate the mechanics of this depth, but there is also work left for the audience.

Compared to that, both of Carter’s other characters seem a little one-dimensional.  Colin Kilkenny expresses hints towards a whole world of personal and domestic troubles, but seems to garner more laughs from his blue song lyrics than anything else. 

Gerald Roberts asks the audience to name celebrities, and relates a story for each one.  It is an often-hilarious outlet for Carter’s remarkable quick wit, but the character just does not hold up to the same scrutiny as Nige - or even Kilkenny. 

The gut feeling is that there are other places that Carter could take these characters, but just not in the short time they are on stage for.  He undermines and manipulates the magic of character comedy with all the skill of the very best at it, while being a versatile enough performer and writer to allow the audience to briefly suspend disbelief.  

In short, Carter has all the talent, skills, imagination and experience to produce character comedy of the highest order.  However, this fractured hour is simply not concentrated enough to show them off.

Review date: 1 Jan 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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