Amos Gill @ Underbelly Bristo Square
Unapologetic Amos Gill returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with an evisceratingly sharp set
Amos Gill is giving the Edinburgh Fringe a masterclass in doubling down. In an hour of patent ranting, Gill’s anger is clear: he believes that there is a cultural victimisation of ‘straight, white, male’ comics. What he presents is an hour of challenging comedy, his swaggeringly contrarian stance hiding a set that tightrope walks with curious precision.
The Australian ‘alt’ comic, as he is happy to regard himself, may believe that he is branded as alternative due to the diminished cultural capital of his particular societal make up. In today’s ‘woke’ climate, his perspective is contentious and, arguably, self-victimising. It may have more to do with the use of racial qualifiers, appropriative stock accents and Rogan-esque projection; were it still 1994, he’d be as mainstream as they come.
His shock value is used to acute and – oddly – less controversial effect during devastatingly funny anecdotes concerning his mother. The set’s main thread, however – media combat with a ‘virtuous’ journalist from the Adelaide Advertiser – offers Gill room to wholly embody the off-the-cuff tirades of his MO.
Gill’s point-of-view is distinctly his, and he’s comfortable with his perspective. He explicitly admits to bigotry, has some praise for post-assassination-attempt Trump, and makes an oddly jingoistic quip about the relationship the US has with its (predominantly white) cultural neighbours. He skirts dangerously close to the edge of outright offence on more than one occasion, but even quips intended to read as riffs feel well-considered. Gill’s set is impressive and conflicting contemporaneously.
It's difficult not to feel the sanctimony which radiates from Gill. He flouts outrage at ‘white racism’ in a seeming bid for egalitarianism yet has little regard for social responsibility; it would be impossible given the sharp and unforgiving edge of his comedy. And that’s the kicker: the work is critically intelligent while also being hard to swallow— and that seems to be the point.
Amos Gill: Going Down Swinging, Underbelly Bristo Square (Dairy Room), until 26 Aug (not 12), 7.45pm, £7.50-13.50