Adrian Maiolla gets points just for the title of his show Funny as a Brain Tumour. The simple, dry irony of the title reflects the show as a whole.
Adrian takes the audience on a unique and deeply personal journey in this show, describing his real life experiences, including three operations and one very nasty brain tumour.
His on stage presence is endearing from the outset. He’s hot and cold running geek who delivers the material rapidly with a noticeably nerve affected voice. Normally this would not be a great commendation but in this case this hippy-nerd with long hair and glasses really suits this material perfectly. On a few occasions his rushed delivery obscures some of his best material but overall it’s the un-slickness of this performer that really sells this show.
Adrian is at his best when he deals with the profundity inherent in the situation he describes. His storytelling skills come to fore and his ability to eek dry, slightly confronting humour out of his tales is what makes this show a real winner.
That being said, at the moment this show is formatted as a series of almost sporadic stories rather than a singular narrative. Together with Adrian’s rapid delivery and slightly nervous gait, this can make the journey difficult to follow as a cohesive whole. This show would really benefit from a tighter narrative and the guidance of an experienced director.
However the endearing nature of the performer together with the uniqueness of the material and Adrian’s ability to make us laugh in the face of mortality, make this remarkable show well worth seeing. I hope Adrian persists with this show and develops it because it has the potential to become a real little cooker.
For booking details go to the Fringe Festival website