Andy’s last time at the Fringe was 2019, and since then, he has been writing the “Hotly Anticipated 4th Debut”; however, due to COVID and grief, the show has had to change and adapt a lot. Barr’s healing process from the grief has ended, and to bring up the grief again is like “forcing a ghost back from the dead”. Instead, his show is a random assortment of jokes and gags between gulps of beer.
Andy seems to have a slight compulsive addiction (aside from the alcohol) to apples. He notes that no medical professionals are in the room as he admires his stack of apples. Obviously, making a joke on the phrase “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. This is a charming part of Andy’s comedy; he takes traditional phrases or stories and adds clever, layered jokes onto them. The Adam and Eve reference is particularly amusing.
Andy has little intermissions between gags and jokes, in which he darkens the room and the mood with his poems. However, the effect of these poems isn’t exactly sombre, not hard to imagine from a man who downs four beers over the course of an hour.
Andy Barr’s humour is very much where reality meets absurdity, with some politics thrown in every now and again. Unfortunately, as he started making this show in 2019, some of his political references are “slightly” outdated. Still, the upside to this is he brings with him a comical nostalgia from about 5, 10 or at times 30 years ago.
Andy himself describes his show as “great gear with no weight”, but even with a lack of creative direction, Andy’s show gets the whole crowd laughing. You don’t have to think about the jokes too hard; you can relax and just take in the funny.
Andy Barr: The Hotly Anticipated 4th Debut Hour from Rising Star, Andy Barr, 20.00, Pleasance Courtyard, until August 24
