| 14 August 2011
This is Fred’s 23rd Fringe. This number alone is testament that he must be doing something right. As the throngs of supporters come into The Stand III thick and fast, one cannot help but admire MacAulay’s success and look forward to the hour ahead.
A Scotsman through and through, MacAulay’s humour celebrates and depreciatingly sends up his own countrymen. He proves that to do this one need not look any further than the headlines of the local Scottish newspapers. He therefore begins his act with a glorious picking to pieces of the Press and Journal’s astonishing headline “Fourth Lifetime Ban for Highland Driver”. Who knew something so simple could provoke such an incredible amount of jubilant laughter?
With years of practise Fred knows his crowd and what will make them laugh without excluding those who aren’t Scottish, or compromising his material. He is self-assured but never arrogant, likeable but not insipid, and critical but rarely a dick. Indeed this is the man who sauntered up Kilamangaro for charity this year, plots against RyanAir in his waking moments, and routinely calls a penis “a wee boaby”.
My main criticism is that he walks a fine line with his sexist jokes. A word of warning: they do not feel so ironic when you hastily slap onto the end of the punchline ‘er yes that was ironic’ whilst sniggering at the ‘lads’. This ‘bloke’s’ humour was the least funny of all because it felt more like self-affirmation of his being one of the boys than anything else. It was gratuitous and brought down the tone of the rest of the otherwise excellent show.
Fred MacAulay: Legally Bald, The Stand III, 4-17 August, 7.50pm
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
