Alicia Adejobi enjoys an unforgettable night at the opening of Scott Capurro Opens Up.
Well he's definitely pushed the boundaries with this one. I was aware that Scott Capurro was outspoken, frank and at times downright crude, but I'm still not prepared for this ingenious display of tirades about life. Situated at the old Victorian Roundhouse, Capurro's opening show of the Camden Fringe takes place in a dimly lit room with red brick walls, giving it a somewhat incomplete look. Nonetheless, I think the room looks presentable. Capurro thinks it looks like “Anne Frank's fucking memorial site”.
The comedian displays his camp and bubbly persona as soon as he arrives when he hurriedly bursts into the room armed with a man-bag and an umbrella. From the offset, Capurro proves that he didn't win a Perrier Award for nothing as he picks on a young couple in the front row off the cuff and proceeds to out the boyfriend. Leering at the embarrassed man, who plays along with it, Capurro shocks the audience as he asks about their sex life and delves into areas that make us laugh and squirm in our seats. While he continues to rant away about Jews still hung up on the Holocaust and the dwarf prostitute who he spies on from his bedroom window, the 47-year-old amazes me with his brilliant improvisation skills and impeccable comedic timing. With one-liners such as “aren't kids disgusting” and “Muslims must be gay – they wear dresses”, Capurro shows why he does black comedy the best.
Whilst he talks to the audience as though chatting to a friend over coffee, I look on in shock at the way he manages to get away with making light of serious subjects such as Madeleine McCann. “Just before I took her, she said she liked Portugal and didn't want to leave”, he tells the uncertain faces staring back at him. “I said just shut the fuck up and get back in the boot,” he says, laughing at his own joke. Even in situations like this, Capurro's likeable persona makes it hard for you to disapprove of his gags.
Capurro is at his best when he talks about his “beautiful, black Brazilian boyfriend”, whom he's walking down the aisle next month. But Capurro's talents do not stop at stand-up. He brilliantly performs a role play of puppetry using his fingers, to demonstrate how “sickly” in love his flat-mates are. This unexpected puppet show takes the performance to a new level as Capurro reminds us that his talents are, basically, endless.
In the midst of his success, Capurro does hit a bum-note, err literally. He thinks it's necessary to demonstrate how he was having sex in a lift, by pulling his trousers down to reveal colourful y-fronts. For a moment, the show turns a little sour, but lucky for Capurro, it doesn't overshadow the hilarity of his performance.
Once Capurro thanks the audience for an enjoyable evening and jets out of the door, the room starts buzzing with gasps and laughter as we recall our favourite moments of the night. With his quick wit, sharp improvisation and shock tactics, Capurro is not one for the faint-hearted and proves why he is rightly dubbed one of the “highlights of the Camden Fringe”.
To see all Camden Fringe comedy, click on the following venues:
Roundhouse Studio
Camden Head
Lion and Unicorn Theatre
The Sheephaven Bay
Etcetera Theatre
For more details visit: www.camdenfringe.org
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