Rob Auton is something of a Renaissance Man, mixing comedy, poetry, and a dash of philosophy, plus some kind of extra doo-dah that makes the sky seems magic and can coax a roomful of people to close their eyes whenever he asks them to. He informs us that punchlines are not the priority in his creative process. But it’s not an issue – because in a Rob Auton show the interest and the laughter come from unexpected places, in a way which is quite unlike the usual rhythms of comedy.
There’s beauty in the smaller details that he highlights within the framework of eyes being open and eyes being shut. From the price of underwear, to telescope-owning, it’s as if Auton took Alan Bennett’s list for the day and made it his own. There are also larger ideas borrowed from wellness, from thanking your body, to a couple of guided meditations – that have been Auton-ated, dipped in his scrutiny and which can be savoured within their own space, altered by his unmistakable presence and poetic perspective.
Auton has us blinking, looking, noticing the things that surround the things we can see. He has a warmth and a low key eccentricity that encourages laughter and thought, a love of words and poetry that conjure life from the moon and the dead. It’s an hour that opens your eyes in more ways than one and leaves positivity in the chests of all, with possibilities twinkling like the stars behind the daylight outside.
Rob Auton: The Eyes Open And Shut Show, 19.05, Assembly Roxy – Upstairs, Until August 25
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22Rob%20Auton%3A%20The%20Eyes%20Open%20and%20Shut%20Show%22
