I mentioned Daniel briefly yesterday as one performer who has moved some way beyond the cut and thrust of the blokish weekend comedy club. In fact, this is exactly where he cut his teeth – he was known for long time as the “circus ringmaster” of some of the liveliest and toughest rooms in the UK, most notably the famous Late and Live show at the Edinburgh Festival – at the height of its notoriety.

With thick glasses, unfashionable hair and a fairly pronounced stammer, you’d think Daniel would need to have quick wits to survive that kind of environment – in fact he seemed to flourish in it – taking things in his stride, improvising effortlessly and easily getting the better of the most drinken and boorish of hecklers.

Having conquered the clubs he moved quite quickly to the one man shows – purveying a sort of lowfi indie style one man theatre with whimsical charm and honesty.

Taking the stage at the lovely old theatre he calls home for a short while here in Adelaide, he recalls yet another era of comedy – resembling at times an Eric Morecambe style figure in his suit and tie and even possessing a trademark adjustment of the glasses manouver.

All this experience and a truly admirable feel for the complexity, subtlety and breadth of the English language has enabled Daniel to produce comedy that couples his human compassion and his piercing insight into the the emotional, psychological and spiritual issues of the day. Through the lens of small yet significant incidents in his life (many of which seem to occur on buses) Kitson delves piercingly into the heart of the malaises that colour our experiences – covering many angles of each topic in the way that the comic mind can cause you to do – he wont say anything that can be shot down in flames without exploring alternative views himself there and then.

The Impotent Fury of the Privilieged is one of the best pieces of stand up Ive ever seen combining a hugely experienced and talented comic artistry with a passionate belief in the ways that we can improve the lifes of everyone constantly with attention to our unavoidable engagement with world around us. If time permitted Id actually like to go see this show again, because its over an hour and a half of densely packed ideas, brilliantly explored and delivered and Im sure if I saw it again I’d get even more out of it.
Xx

Stand Up Comedy

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