Sam Fletcher @ Underbelly, George Square

Sam Fletcher's hour is a mixed bag of tricks

Review by Jenni Ajderian | 18 Aug 2016

A blend of half-baked magic tricks and anti-climactic games, Sam Fletcher’s Daftwerk is more than a little confusing. Once we’re on board with the idea of him playing a slapdash and over-enthusiastic presenter, most of the jokes and almost-puns work, but it takes a while for us to work out what he’s doing. Party games are the order of the day, and there is plenty of physical humour that may appeal to younger crowds, although this is rounded off with bone-dry sarcasm that doesn’t quite fit and makes the whole feel a bit flat.

One or two of the magic tricks were genuinely impressive, but by this point they weren’t enough to grab our full attention, and Fletcher ends up selling himself short. A recurring theme is his research on polymaths, which serves to show off a few great illustrations but otherwise doesn’t lead us anywhere. An indie comic and lo-fi by design, here Fletcher unfortunately needs more balance between those awkward moments of anti-climax and the humour we need to get really involved.


Sam Fletcher: Daftwerk, Underbelly, George Square (The Wee Coo), 3-28 Aug (not 16), 4pm, £6-10.50