Sarah Kendell reviews the former Sunday Times columnist's new show about love.
Despite the ominous-looking afternoon weather in Edinburgh, or perhaps because of it, there’s still a healthy crowd gathered in the Pleasance’s studio space for Andrew Clover’s new show. The former Sunday Times columnist bounds on stage, a ball of rambunctious and, as he admits himself, rather camp energy. “You’re a lot gayer in real life”, Clover says, imitating fans of his column that have encountered him in person for the first time. Dressed in a pale grey suit, matching pork-pie hat and a tie in the brightest hue of pink I’ve ever seen, the comedian certainly cuts an enjoyable dandy-esque figure.
Interviewing him a few weeks before the Fringe, I was delighted by Clover’s seemingly endless catalogue of wacky accents, colourful characters and random conversational tangents. This same sense of having a conversation with a particularly funny schizophrenic comes across in his live show as well. Rather than simply telling a story, he acts it out in full, from the petulant temper tantrums of his young daughter to the passive-aggressive anger of his old ball and chain. This certainly helps add another dimension to the somewhat typical subject matter of his show – the trials and tribulations of love, marriage and raising children.
Clover also has a good level of audience interactivity to his performance, and his exuberant charm means the crowd is never shy of contributing an answer to his questions. One particular middle-aged couple become the unwitting stars of the show when Clover asks them to finish the sentence “Marriage is a game of…” and the husband, no doubt after a few too many pints, answers, “Joyful sex.” A couple in the front’s relationship is not looking quite as promising – when Clover asks the woman what first attracted her to her boyfriend, she answers, “Nothing.” Ah well, guess someone’s got to make up the unlucky half of the divorce statistics.
This frank, chatty atmosphere, combined with Clover’s endearing goofiness, makes for a pleasant afternoon’s entertainment. Where the show is perhaps lacking is in the absence of truly punchy material. Despite the comedian’s admirable efforts on stage to lift the oft-deconstructed subjects of marriage and kids out of ordinary, run-of-the-mill territory, he doesn’t quite get there. Nevertheless, Clover has such a likeable stage presence that even this love cynic couldn’t help but leave with a case of the warm and fuzzies.
Andrew Clover: Love Rules will be at the Pleasance Courtyard from the 4-29th August at 6pm.
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