South Africa’s top (possibly only) ventriloquist, Conrad Koch and his puppet, Chester Missing have bought their show about racism, apartheid and colonialism, to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Not subjects that scream comedy but it seems everyone is interested to find out how this is going to work.
Conrad, who has appeared on Comedy Central and Comedy Network, and been nominated for an International Emmy, starts the show by announcing “Let’s get weird” and proceeds to enact a puppet love story to the audience, using nothing but his naked hands.
Definitely weird.
But the fact that you can follow the story he is telling using just his hands and noises shows that he knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to puppetry.
As this concludes he reaches into a container and pulls out the puppet of the hour, Chester, who introduces himself and then almost instantly starts to question Conrad’s authority.
The fact they disagree on most points is the main basis of the show, meaning you get to hear healthy debate over racism and white privilege, questioning why this happens and telling us some horrifying and shocking real-life situations where this was, and still is, happening.
Somehow Conrad and Chester manage to make this a lot funnier than it sounds although there are a few awkward moments where the truth of the subject creates enough tension in the room that it makes it difficult to switch back to the humorous side of things.
As a ventriloquist Conrad is acceptable, switching between voices and tempers in a quick-fire fashion as he argues with Chester with minimal movement of his mouth, but the goal here with Chester is really just as a vessel to discuss a serious issue.
After an hour of digging into the subject, including questioning his own racism, and that of the crowd, you can’t help feeling a little ashamed, and rightly so, but whether this is the sort of feeling you should have when you are leaving a comedy show rather than a lecture I’m not so sure.
Amusing and informative, this show isn’t for everyone, but it makes the subject matter accessible and that can’t be a bad thing.
Conrad Koch: White Noise is playing daily at 21.45, Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three, until Aug 29 (not 15th)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/conrad-koch-white-noise
