Ian Smith @ Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh

In his loosely connected hour on stress, Ian Smith revels in spooling out the fun from the dullness of daily life. His anecdotes range from the stand-up standard of illustrating your hometown (Goole, Yorkshire) and its local characters, to a post break-up holiday in Blackpool and a fantastic set-piece on unusual stress relief in Bratislava.

Smith has a knack for low-key, though not necessarily low energy, storytelling. As the hour progresses, he becomes more animated, elevating his well-crafted punchlines and helping to nail some of his more surreal threads; the ‘arm’ fairy and his supermarket ad-catchphrase being the best. His casual callbacks, delivered with a knowing glint, help stitch the hour together and save Crushing from being back-to-back, unrelated club sets. 

He has a hugely likeable presence and his audience stands firmly behind him, willing him to go on. It’s a shame, then, that he only seems to hit his stride by the final anecdote, with those coming before serving as incremental rungs on the ascent. When we do reach the top, it’s a comparatively short ride down.

Crushing is a solid 60 minutes of comedy, but it does feel a little flat. Smith’s jokes never quite reach soaring highs and the segues are a little too signposted. It doesn’t quite have the slickness of other Edinburgh hours. That’s not to say his jokes fall flat – far from it. It just lacks a little oomph, a little light and shade.

If it’s no-frills laughs you’re after, you’re in very safe hands with Smith. It’s everyman comedy for the everyday, and a lovely bit of stress relief at the end of a long week.

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Ian Smith: Crushing, reviewed on 25 Feb 2024 at Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh

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