Guy Branum: Be Fruitful comedy review – Asking big questions
Emmy award-winning writer provides a brainy set packed with challenging, existentially fraught themes
What’s the point of anything? In a challenging hour, Guy Branum questions the meaning of life and, more specifically, his own existence as a fat (his word, which he tortuously forces an audience member to utter), gay man. Heavy stuff, though he does ease us in with a brilliantly batshit ‘roast’ of random fruits. An Emmy Award winner for his writing work on Hacks, Branum is an engaging, vaguely threatening presence, his face a mask that only briefly flickers into a smile. A couple of technical glitches derail his flow and it’s tricky to fully appreciate his slides when only the front row can see the bottom of them. Pacing is a slight issue too, with the back half of his hour loaded with existential questions.
But Branum steamrolls through, confronting our prejudices. For example, if your physical appearance means you haven’t been the recipient of love, who are we to judge if you find some semblance of it with a sex worker? Stimulating takes on religion, dinosaurs (muscly ones) and whether, as a gay man, he’s simply designed to be a genetic full stop come thick and fast. Guy Branum’s material is smart and demanding; this is comedy to make your little grey cells work overtime.
Guy Branum: Be Fruitful, Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 31 August, 8.30pm.