Dan Antopolski Fringe Review 2009

Dan Antopolski is a pretty edgy comic, or so he tells us tonight. So edgy, in fact, that a reviewer once remarked that he had "more edge than a hexagonal Table." Presumably the critic in question was referring to the pre-2008 Antopolski, the one that had two Perrier nominations and a blossoming TV career, not the laboured Antopolski that rambles aimlessly through tonight's performance.

Things don't start well. Faced with a packed crowd of already-smiling Friday night punters, Antopolski completely fudges his initial audience banter, throwing himself and his expectant audience completely off-kilter. Things improve slightly as he eases into polished observational material on Obama and family life, but by halfway through the set is starting to feel frustratingly shallow. Antopolski is obviously bright and likeable; it's just his material is unforgivably weak.

Skits on porn and middle age only ever touch the surface and attempts at ‘zany’ surrealism are far too cuddly for a Fringe audience. Indeed, the funniest moments generally come when Antopolski is acknowledging the weaknesses in his own set, skilfully using the awkward silences to his own advantage.

But there's only so many times you can get mileage from admitting your own flaws. In a bid to boost waning audience interest, Antopolski eventually turns to life in Brixton and then, excruciatingly, begins to rap. You would think watching a white, middle-class, 37-year old rap could be so bad it might be funny. Unfortunately, like much of Antopolski’s set, the result here is simply tragic.