It’s a tale as old as time: you grow up, get married, have kids, move to the countryside… and lose your mind. This is Chris’s story, anyway.
His hour-long Monkey Barrel set is a journey of a former wise-guy who’s never quite managed to wise up yet. Even after recently turning 40, the monotony of country life has turned Chris back to his old ways of pranking- and wearing a cape- to cope with his newfound isolation.
It’s been getting him down, he tells us. Its hard to believe somehow, given his loud and jovial aura on stage. He’s certainly not a shy guy and laughs ferociously at his own jokes with no shame. Not that he is the only one laughing, Chris has the audience howling from about the first moment he steps on stage.
He tells us as soon as he arrives on stage that this is not a show for the 20-somethings among us. He’s a newly middle-aged man and is going to make jokes for his own age group, damn it. This is no problem in our show, where Chris gets the loudest and most continuous laughs I’ve seen yet at the fringe. Honestly, sometimes he doesn’t even need to say something- a gesture, a pause is enough to crack up the crowd around me.
Unfortunately for me, I am among the few 20-somethings, so I can’t count myself among his most enthusiastic listeners. I certainly do enjoy the show, but at the level of a chuckle rather than a hoot.
If I were to try and characterise Chris as a performer, I’d probably call him a safe bet. I’m not who he wrote the show for, but his talent and easy humour made that seem irrelevant. Even if you don’t love it, you’ll definitely still enjoy his stuff and I can’t image anyone regretting paying him a visit. Come for his energy, stay for his disdain for trauma dumping comics while subtly exploring his own.
Chris Cantrill: Easily Swayed, 12.10 Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron) until August 25.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/chris-cantrill-easily-swayed.
Latharna Imlah
