Scott Agnew: Tales of the Sauna

Review by Barrie Morgan | 17 Aug 2012

Scott Agnew has been on the comedy circuit for a few years now, but he's only been on the gay sauna circuit for one. Due to Agnew's wonderful story-telling abilities it becomes really quite hard to decipher which one is funnier.

The story is one of the most open and honest you may ever hear a comedian utter. Agnew starts by checking the balance of gay/straight individuals and he dumbs his material down at stages for the unitiated but openly camps it up when required also. He strikes a good balance between different sexual stereotypes, ultimately coming through for what he is, an individual, and then continues to take his audience on an interesting and quite unbelievable journey.

Natural humour streams effortlessly from Agnew as he talks on stage. He gets excited about the things he thought interesting and brushes over bits he didn't. Personally, I found the tale more a sexual one than a homosexual one. Whether or not Agnew is gay mattered little to me, it's the honesty of another soul, gay or straight, standing in front of a room of strangers telling them their darkest secrets that I found truly amazing.

In a quiet, reserved landscape of overt sexual tension it's a breath of fresh air.

Scott Agnew: Tales of the Suana, Stand IV, until 26 Aug, 8.25pm, £8/£7 http://www.thestand.co.uk/fringe/show/86/Preview-Scott-Agnew-Tales-of-the-Sauna