Theatre

Geoff Norcott is Good in a Crisis

John Underwood | Wednesday 10 August, 2011 16:06

Geoff Norcott seems very keen to warn you that his show might not be much good yet, which is a charitable thing to do when nobody’s sitting more than ten metres from the exit. He needn’t have bothered; this mini-run of what will hopefully become Norcott’s 2012 Edinburgh show is a thing of great beauty, barely giving the audience time to breathe between laughs whilst tackling some unexpectedly sombre subject matter.

The theme underpinning Geoff Norcott is Good in a Crisis is the recent death of Norcott’s mother – certainly not an obvious subject for comedy, but one which works surprisingly well in his deft hands. Mixing a certain amount of unashamed homage with anecdotal stories of his journey through bereavement and grief, Norcott does a fine job of involving the audience irrespective of whether they can empathise with his situation, whilst avoiding killing the atmosphere with morbidity. Combining his fine set-pieces with unusually confident audience interaction (it’s easy to tell he’s dealt with harder crowds than Camden can provide; Norcott’s a regular entertainer of HM Forces overseas), this is a well-crafted show with as much heart as it has humour.

Camden Fringe Festival page

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