Glasgow Comedy Festival
Mark Steel's Back In Town, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
Lorraine Wilson
four stars
Being honest, there was more personal trepidation than anticipation before Mark Steel arrived. He wasn't just "in town" but "back in town". Having seen several of the live shows and listened to the Radio 4 series, the hope was that he would move on to another idea.
Before the lights even faded to black and with no introduction, he appeared, resplendent in a wine-coloured velvet blazer. Quickly it became apparent that, more than ever, the In Town concept is simply a springboard - with the subjects tackled having at least an 8.2 degree of difficulty. With the requisite "Glasgow is better than Edinburgh" comment out of the way, he dared to do what few other stand-ups have - provide more than just lip service to the referendum, providing an honest and balanced viewpoint.
As one of the country's best newspaper columnists, he takes on the biggest subjects on a weekly basis of course, and even here he has no fear of enduring a couple of chortle-free minutes before landing the sucker punchline. Tackling the depiction of benefits Britain, he caricatures the coverage to the point of talking about a family who need to be rehoused to St Paul's Cathedral to accommodate their giraffe - who is also on benefits.
Discussing the complications of religion, he points out that the Sikh Gurdwara in Southall feeds around 4000 people a day - and questions whether he would get anything if he showed up at Richard Dawkins' place unannounced? The perils of gentrification are explored splendidly and of course he manages to provide a huge hug to Glasgow while simultaneously pointing out its idiosyncrasies. Mark Steel is a big-brain comedian, no doubt, but his greatest strength is his humanity.
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