The Edinburgh Fringe can throw up some unexpected incidents. Particularly late night gigs when alcohol may have been consumed by the audience. Earlier this week I witnessed a very tense moment at Richard Todd's gig when a muscular punter who was bigger than some venues seemed reluctant to leave a show when he was ejected for using his phone. For a moment he stood at the door eyeballing the act. It could've gone either way. Luckily he then left.
It wouldn't suprise me if George Rigden has some similar nervous encounters during his run, but unlike Todd (who is lovely and well-worth seeing) if he does he has brought it on himself. Part of his schtick is to select a couple at the start of the show and mock the man throughout in an attempt to steal his girlfriend from him. It is a tribute to Rigden's crowdworking skill that he can – hopefully – pick a sporting boyfriend and get way with this every night.
Rigden is a musical comedian too. And an impressive one. There's more than a touch of the David Brent frustrated wannabe rock star about him but his songs are much better than Brent's, from the self-mocking World's Sexiest Man ("don't believe me, ask my gran") to his rather dubious tribute to a character from a famous family film franchise. The lyrics are twisted, the tunes catchy.
As the set goes on more of a back story emerges to explain why Rigden's self-esteem is bumping along the bottom. He plays low status exceedingly well - maybe too well, pushing things further than a lot of comedians would dare. This is the comedy of awkwardness and despair with knobs on and red wine dribbling down the front.
And as I said earlier he takes things a long way with the audience couple he picks out. He got away with it this time, but even here there was a frisson when the boyfriend was reluctant to be pushed around at the start. To say more would spoil some of the surprises in his show. But if you like the stand-up tragedy of Johnny Vegas and Nick Helm then Rigden's loser style should be just for you. And even if you don't like the idea of watching someone falling apart the songs are great.
Until August 27. Tickets here.
Read more Edinburgh Fringe reviews here.
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