Review by Paul Fleckney

Josh Ladgrove was responsible for the most insultingly bad Fringe show I’ve ever seen, Come Heckle Christ – a colossal waste of time that a lot of people paid a tenner to watch, as he posed as Jesus and dealt with whatever the crowd threw at him. But clean slate and all that, for he is back, with a show from his less-crucified alter ego Neal Portenza. 

The good news is that it’s 100 per cent better than his 2014 show, the bad news is that I still despaired at the lack of substance. This being a defiantly anti-mainstream show, there is the usual checklist: stripping, some gooey mess, some deliberately bad impressions, and most obvious of all, a list of deliberately bad jokes. 

In the name of interactivity, people in the audience are issued with polystyrene guns, water pistols and a frisbee and encouraged to join in when they like. This does make it fun, there’s no doubt, and there’s a certain tension in waiting for the shooters to pull the trigger as Ladgrove goes about his business. As the crowd are given this measure of control, they start playing up: chatting back and firing water pistols at inopportune times. People feel like they can do what they want in a Portenza show as he completely removes the barrier. It is liberating for sure, but it also gives the show such an unprofessional feel I lament that this is a paid show not a free one. 

His commitment to lunacy will get you at some point, even if you don’t think it will. Whether it’s Ladgrove squawking like and eagle or his Titanic take-off or his alternative Spice Girls lyrics, he’ll get you. I just can’t get past the fact that there’s no substance underpinning the anarchy. Lunatics like Luke McQueen, Lou Sanders, Michael Brunstrom and Adam Larter at least give you the feeling that it’s all a worthwhile endeavour. A bit of skill, or a sign of some sort of applied method, surely that’s the minimum requirement?

I put this down to the trend for 'play' in comedy. It started in the year Dr Brown and Daniel Simonsen won the two main awards, and it transpired they’d both attended the Philippe Gaulier clowning school, which among other things encourages a childlike state of play. The potential benefits of this to a comic is clear, and it’s hardly surprising so many have traveled to France for a little of the Gaulier Midas touch.

The Neal Portenza show is the logical conclusion of this trend. It’s just mucking about for the sake of it. I think the idea is to take the theory and do something with it.

Review date: 13 Aug 2016
Reviewed by: Paul Fleckney
Reviewed at: Underbelly Bristo Square