This young stand-up's energetic debut proves there's still life in the posh-boy comedy show yet, says Sarah Kendell.
What is it with Brits’ love-to-hate-them obsession with the posh? Last year’s 'Gap Yah' sketch from the Unexpected Items became an instant YouTube viral hit for taking a dig at socially oblivious children of privilege, while fellow posh piss-takers Totally Tom were included in yesterday’s list of Best Newcomer Eddie nominees.
Despite missing out on similar critical success, Tom Rosenthal’s Child of Privilege, a show revolving around, you guessed it, the same subject, looks to be the popular hit of the Fringe. Attempting to buy a ticket for my evening’s companion a good four hours before the show begins, we’re informed it’s sold out, an occurrence that is quite foreign to me after two years of Fringe-going.
Oddly, despite the fact I’m aware Rosenthal’s smug, blithely disrespectful rich-boy persona is completely put on, he is in fact so convincing in it that I’m inclined to mark his show down just for arrogance, such is British society’s ingrained hatred of the upper classes. This would be to do Rosenthal a great disservice - he has created a vibrant, intelligent and fantastically-arranged debut solo hour that crackles with energy and glows with originality. In short, one of the best hours I’ve had at the Fringe yet.
What we’ve seen in a lot of these posh-boy satires are straight one-dimensional caricatures of the rich - which, don’t get me wrong, are often hilariously accurate, but it’s nice to see someone who’s grown up in that environment go beyond mere sketch-show silliness to communicate a bit about his life to the audience. The son of sports presenter Jim Rosenthal, whose Prince Phillip-style faux pas include calling a black javelin champion a ‘spear-chucker’ and taking Heston Blumenthal to court for food poisoning, the comedian incorporates these personal reflections into his on-stage antics to create a sort of observational-character comedy hybrid, so we’re never quite sure whether he’s being himself or the inflated posh tit version of himself that we all expect.
Add to this a few clever, PowerPoint-assisted gimmicks such as a brilliant dissection of the ‘Thriller’ lyrics using mathematical logic, and some perfectly-timed asides from Rosenthal’s disgruntled ‘butler’ Leonard, and you’ve got a show that packs in the laughs and surprises from start to finish.
In even the funniest of the Fringe shows I’ve attended, there’s always been a moment where I’ve at least felt like looking at my watch, but I can genuinely say that in Child of Privilege, that moment never came. Breathing life into a by now somewhat ailing subject, Rosenthal’s solo debut certainly wins my personal Best Newcomer prize for the year ahead.
Tom Rosenthal: Child of Privilege is at the Pleasance Courtyard at 9:30pm until the 29th August
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