I find myself chuckling even now while writing this review, as I recall the hour of silliness I experienced last night at Oliver Clark’s show. If you were to read a transcript of the show, his often drawn out and unnecessary explanations would lead you to believe that nothing but the sound of crickets would be heard echoing in the intimate surroundings of the venue. However, when delivered by Oliver with his suave inflection and accompanied by a sideways grin, it leads only to irrepressible giggling.
Oliver arrives looking debonair in his powder blue suede jacket and bow tie, armed with all the tools necessary for a riotous night of comedy � those being a yoyo and doily. In fact, there are a plethora of quick prop gags thrown in to make this a jam-packed hour of folly.
It’s difficult to pick a highlight as I found myself laughing consistently throughout, but I’d have to say the folio of his silhouette modeling work would have to come close. It is up against the tough competition of his Dolly Parton impersonation and his solution to Liza and Henry’s bucket problem.
While there doesn’t appear to be any formal structure linking each gag, there is no shortage of variety in this performance. It does feature a few songs, although to label Oliver as a musical comedian would be misleading, as he doesn’t quite fit the mould in terms of his approach.
The most pleasing aspect of “By Request Only” is the inclusion of a couple of methods of audience participation I’ve never seen carried out by a stand up comedian before� but to give them away would spoil all the fun.
This show runs from Tuesday to Saturday until the 28th April. For details go to the MICF website