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Dan Mitchell – Free Egg

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Surreal gags partially rescue an overall flat routine at 2012 Edinburgh Fringe
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Dan Mitchell – Free Egg

Surreal gags partially rescue an overall flat routine

Welsh comedian Dan Mitchell has established himself fairly successfully over the last couple of years. After playing at the Cardiff Comedy Festival in 2011 and performing as a contestant on ITV’s Show Me The Funny, he’s brought a freshness to stale topics about growing up and being clumsy with women.

Here though, his material feels a bit bland and static, with a host of flat punch lines which are all somewhat predictable. The gags are loosely tied to the idea of being sick and tired, and although Mitchell pulls his set together with few clever links, many of the random stories are too detached for the audience to engage with for the full hour. By far the most successful moments are a handful of absurd detours with angry seagulls and well-engineered pit-stops of audience participation, items which thankfully energise the show. Mitchell’s performance isn’t bad, but you wonder whether he’s also sick and tired of bits about car crash chat-up lines, playground name-calling and being a bit of a geek. We certainly are.

Assembly Roxy, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 14), 10.30pm, £9.50--£12 (£8--£10.50).

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