YOUR GUIDE TO EDINBURGH'S FESTIVALS
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ED2019 4/5 Reviews ED2019 Comedy Reviews
Will Mars: Phoenix (Purple Martian / Free Festival)
By Charlie Ellis | Published on Tuesday 20 August 2019
A low-key start set the tone for this slow burn of a performance, examining Will Mars’ midlife crisis. The intimate venue allows him to interact playfully with the audience, who were unsure whether to laugh at Mars’ account of his father’s physical abuse and imprisonment. His childhood left him with scars but he also inherited his mother’s dark sense of humour, and this pervades the entire performance. Mars details how a decade working in Spain for Club 18-30 left him poorly prepared for proper relationships and how falling in love with stand-up has given him purpose (if not financial security). Wisely, given the furnace-like room, he cuts the show slightly short but his thoughtful performance doesn’t short-change the audience.
Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, until 25 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Charlie Ellis]
