Underbelly, Bristo square
Aug 24-27 (20:15)
Virginibus Puerisque Canto
“We are all made of stories… and stardust.” Expect the unexpected from the gangster of glam, the master of the obtuse, Simon David, as he weaves the heartfelt amongst the haughty for a positively naughty night out.
This lord of the lewd can exquisitely turn a phrase and it’s a blistering pace for both hands, trying to stay in the cart as the roller-coaster rockets you around an outrageous story. Quick fire delivery keeps your brain chasing as the cultivation of chaos leaves the audience gasping for grip, gears changing every few minutes, at times it seemed a little excessively so but that’s the style. The arresting title, Dead Dad Show, lays down the gauntlet and announces David’s bravery to the world. It’s a necessarily circuitous journey – not actually morose at all and artfully handles what is a painful part of life – turning it into a celebration of joy.
The puns fly thick and fast, layered self-referencing with lighting and sound cues synchronised perfectly, directed with precision design by Chris Larner. It’s molten mayhem as David delivers twist after turn, turn after take and takes turns in twisting everything till all perspective joins us in circling the butthole as we’re sucked towards death. What? Exactly. It’s marvellous. Don’t worry.
It’s hard to explain the method, but it’s rudely revelling in random, and then suddenly landing some starkly direct and down-to-earth material, leaving you to wonder what is real and what is exaggerated. From his ground-breaking fashion innovation, the male skirt, to his development of a new play outlining his emergence as a cultural icon in NYC, to his satirising of the obligatory transphobic Netflix special, to his father’s cancer diagnosis and death, even difficult and painful issues can be subsumed into the celebration of absurdity simply by being made hilarious. Powerful.
The meta-narrative being that you make your own fun and your own worlds via your imagination and freedom – which can overcome even the greatest adversities. In fact, there’s no freer performer that I have seen at the fringe. David’s freedom is infectious and in the days after the show I have felt the urge to take more risks and go for things.
The impact of his style is manifest because there’s simply a lot of love underpinning David’s outrageous and elaborate brand of comedy. Love for the audience, love for performing, love for his family and love for the ridiculous nature of life and the important mission of not taking it too seriously.
Stuart Bruce
Mumble Comedy 