Limmy
Hit and miss character affair
Delivering character and sketch comedy with a distinctly Glaswegian accent, Limmy has built himself a considerable following with his World of Glasgow podcasts, and followers are packed into every corner of Stand II to see his first live shows.
But Limmy’s Fringe debut is somewhat hit and miss. His portrait of a self-loathing gay man who is only interested in straight men involves a lot of crowd-pleasing limp-wristedness, but it’s hard to tell what is actually supposed to be funny about this scenario. The same goes for the video sketches that punctuate the show, from a film about a man who finds himself uncomfortably drawn to his dog’s hanging appendages, to a chap being repeatedly hit on the head by a door. These are cheap laughs, but he has a perfectly willing audience.
Where Limmy does shine is in creating occasionally believable characters: a man argues with his wife after hiring their child to a money lender while a chav imagines the social hierarchy that might exist if his kitchen utensils came alive. These surreal situations with familiar faces are the high points of his set and are better timed than the videos, which simply assault us with a single overplayed joke.
The Stand II, 558 7272, until 26 Aug (not 13), 4.05pm, £7 (£6).