The Groggy Squirrel

This being my first full length Daniel Kitson show, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. My only previous experiences of his comedy have been improvised or based purely on audience interaction. There was not much of either though in this hour and a half of well structured, thought provoking and hilarious utilisation of the English language.

After the first twenty minutes or so I thought I had summed him up as a man who simply had a very funny way of pointing out our inevitable deaths as lonely and insignificant beings. The show soon took a delightful turn however, as he talked about some of the things he relishes most in life – including paddling in the sea, witnessing good parenting, and of course, fireworks. This made me seriously re-evaluate my conclusions.

Daniel recalled various moments in his life that he felt were worthy of a mental snap-shot to file away and later sift through on his death bed, when he will need them to remind him that life was beautiful and wondrous after all.

Daniel clearly outlined the criteria for labeling people with the title ‘friend’ in today’s MySpace crazed world. He went on to describe the relationships he has with his friends and family through a series of comical tales and the stories behind in-jokes he shares with those closest to him.

Daniel Kitson is the unsurpassed wordsmith in comedy and his show left a sweet after taste to savour during the drive home. While Daniel argues that nobody in this world is ever truly unique, his performance does nothing to support his theory, because you won’t see anyone else quite like him at the festival.

You also have to appreciate the effort he put into the title and backdrop design for his show, or at least I felt I had to mention it after he told us we should.

Daniel Kitson will be performing this show from Sunday to Thursday until the 29th April. For booking details go to the MICF website