Rob Auton has become something of an Edinburgh Fringe cult. Every year he returns with a brand new immaculately put together monologue, usually in the same venue, about something that has become an obsession. Hair, Sky, a colour, that sort of thing. I’m a big fan. This year I’d been told there was a change. It was storytelling and he was playing a character. Cue even more eager anticipation than usual…
I’m not sure what I was expecting. A Pub Landlord-style beer monster? A John Shuttleworth musical maestro with an Austin Ambassador Y Reg? Rob Auton’s CAN is nothing like them. He is a top motivational speaker, or rather an ex-top motivational speaker. But one that sounds and dresses remarkably like Rob Auton. Long hair, plain suit.
So, if I’m honest, after a big build up from his team that was a bit of a let-down. But there are absolutely no let-downs when the show kicks in. Without giving too much away this is more political than previous Auton shows. CAN (because of his positivity I guess his surname is DO) thinks big. He wants to change the world. Motivate everyone on the planet from children right up to top politicians – maybe particularly top politicians – to make the world a better place.
In a way the show feels a little like a Black Mirror story but without the nasty underbelly. Our hero does get what he wants but things are never that simple. It’s a beautifully constructed tale and you really can’t see how it is going to turn out. There are even proper jokes in it: “Everyone is worried about AI. I’m more concerned with what the other vowels are up to.” It’s a shame there’s no Dave Joke of the Fringe this year, says the former winner, with a slight note of sarcasm in his voice.
Elsewhere there are memorable images and immaculately constructed thoughts about life. In a recent show Auton revealed that he had previously worked in advertising and the way he comes up with memorable lines here – such as one about a butterfly never being able to see the beauty of its wings because of the way its eyes work – you can imagine a parallel universe where there is an alternative Auton coming up with lines to sell material things rather than sell his ideas.
Standing in the centre of the stage he is surrounded by large pieces of card with words on them. They don’t seem to be prompts or cues though. Auton doesn’t need any prompts, the words just flow out of him. By the end CAN wants us all to celebrate the humanity and magic of our brief existences. He is funny and touching. We are lucky to be alive. Cherish every moment. To me this is precisely the kind of thing Auton himself would say onstage. Has CAN turned into Auton? Or was he really Auton all along? That’s for you to decide.
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