Dane Baptiste
Pleasance Courtyard
Five stars
Marianne Gunn
In only his second Edinburgh show, Dane Baptiste is having Reasonable Doubts. He doubts the establishment, he challenges the status quo and he has real issues with McDonalds. Being nominated for a Foster's Award last year, Baptiste have been expected to be wrestling with that difficult second album notion. However, the quality of his logic and his realisation that he "over-thinks" most things sets up the majority of the guffaws. Some material is pretty blue: a certain type of poaching in the future is bound to make every male in the audience cross their legs while his inner conflict with both his virginity and libido is masterfully crafted with special voices and signature moves.
There is a social justice subtext to this comedy which makes it all the more appealing. Why do we pay charities by direct debit? Shouldn't we want a greater sense of urgency while saving the snow leopard? There is also an analysis of class with Baptiste mocking the RP voices of the establishment, now seeking his opinion (being less important than Idris Elba but more important than the bottom of his society-mocking NasBlack Index). Diversity is under the microscope here in racial, gender and socio-economic terms. And you'll laugh. Laugh lots. And maybe only squirm a few times when his spotlight is shone on the ignorance that surrounds us.
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