Luke Rollason @ Pleasance Dome
Luke Rollason uses children’s fairytales to play to his strengths in new hour Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair
As you might expect from the title, Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair is a tangle of fairytales, chopped up and spun through the workings of our hero’s distinctive mind. Rollason’s ingenuity is immense as ever, especially when it comes to his storytelling tools. A whisk becomes a fishing rod, toilet roll becomes everything from Rapunzel’s hair to a faecal stream, and two beers become… well, just two drinks to enjoy responsibly. His ability to envision a regular household object in such a variety of different roles is creative problem solving at its finest.
The same must be said for his skills as a clown and improviser. Emerging at the top of the show as King Midas, Rollason declares himself cursed with the ability to turn anything he touches into comedy gold – he demonstrates, and then attempts to lift the curse. Making the sketch so reliant on audience laughter is risky, but he nails it.
Rollason is smart with his audience participation, finding creative ways to weave these moments into his chosen fables. He has a chance to really prove his mettle with the presence of two young children in the audience, perhaps attracted by the show’s seemingly family-friendly theme. Lesser comics would be thrown off, especially when their material is manifestly unsuitable for kids, but Rollason responds calmly, not rushing to acknowledge their presence and waiting to do so until the moment when it will offer the most possible laughs.
The tone and subject matter do mean that this could easily have doubled for a children’s hour. As it stands, a small scattering of swears and a reference to the human centipede mean that ... Let Down Your Hair falls in between the two categories. The depth of the show’s theme is impressive, although not all of the sketches reach the high standards already set for Rollason’s creativity or funniness. All the same, it's a fun and impressively inventive hour delivered by a performer in full command of his craft.
Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair, Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), until 25 Aug, 7.10pm, £10-£14