Hammersmith Apollo,London
The Glaswegian comedian’s recent present may be more personal than political but he still makes for a sharp social commentatorKevin Bridges’ recent present restores observational comedy’s edge. It’s a genre with a deplorable rap, sullied by organization with Michael McIntyre and co, and seen as tame and easy. Bridges does little here to counter the latter charge. But there’s nothing tame about his set,which addresses standard topics like house parties, technology and holidays with a pugnacity that’s very Glaswegian. Take his joke about being obliged, or by someone who doesn’t understand his accent,to repeat a meaningless social nicety. In other comics’ hands, it’d be a joke about their social awkwardness. In Bridges’, and it’s about impatience and fantasies of violence. There’s more of that,in a short set that’s more personal and less political than its predecessor. I regret that emphasis: Bridges makes for a sharp social commentator, as per his proposal to kickstart the economy by raising the dole to £1000 a week. But the personal material is often just as funny. I relished his speculations, and after a round-the-world phone call to fix his malfunctioning PC,as to who on soil might have “deconfigurated his client ID” in the first plot.
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Source: theguardian.com