Larry Dean, image via Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Larry Dean is unexpected. His thick brogue is finely tuned for telling jokes but is easily shed to embody an impressive mix of characters. A quick change into an Australian drawl suddenly makes you question whether his Scottish accent is the caricature but his stylings are definitively of the north and despite a sometimes chavish appearance, Dean is as much heart as he is hellfire, as needy as he is a needler but funny through and through.
There is a real sense of persona that most comics assume when they take the stage; a tone of voice, a strut, a demeanour ready to counter-attack at the slightest provocation. It’s not hard to understand why but to truly make an audience laugh you can’t back into a corner. Dean can be gloriously savage at times, ask anyone who sat in the front row, but there is cheek to it that robs it of any real threat of harm.
He is a gifted storyteller and like another famous Scot, brilliant at wandering off on an equally entertaining tangent but it’s hard to tell which tangents are planned and it’s wonderful. He can lead you down a path like a puppy chasing a tennis ball on the edge of a joke you know is coming only to drop into a totally sincere story about his grandmother. It’s honest and it’s unexpected but he never fails to bring you back around, clearly pleased with himself and why shouldn’t he be?
Dean can draw a long bow too. For those who love a serious narrative arch, the doubling back to earlier material and the slow build to a gag an entire show in the making, you will not be disappointed. From playing on Trainspotting-inspired Scottish stereotypes, to uncomfortable dating habits and cast of colourful family characters there is a homely feel to it, albeit one with a hard edge. It’s like a bug crawling up your arm in a clean apartment or finding a copy or The Art of the Deal sitting on an otherwise impressive bookshelf. It’s strange but beguiling and just off-putting to make you look askew at your subject.
And this is Larry Dean, the Irn Bru drinking Scotsman who loves his granny, a cheeky yarn and Elvis Presley. After watching Farcissist, you will too.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Farcissist
Larry Dean
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne Town Hall
4 – 23 April
