Caling a comedian a "safe pair of hands" might sound like a negative criticism, but in the case of seasoned campaigner Andrew Maxwell it is very much a positive. The diminutive Dubliner is the kind of comedian that walks onstage and immediately puts the audience at their ease. This Halloween gig was reviewed originally in the Evening Standard here and at the very start he literally had the crowd eating out of his hands - not just because of his easy-going "right brothers" inclusivity, but because he was handing around Trick or Treat chocolates. You may not get sweets every night during his run at the Soho Theatre until November 10, but you will get laughs, insight and smart jokes which, some might say, is what people really want out of comedians. Chocaholics can bring their own provisions.
Andrew Maxwell, Soho Theatre
When Andrew Maxwell performed Banana Kingdom at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer the narrative spine of the show was Scotland’s quest for independence. Having now travelled 400 miles south this political hot potato is a little cooler, leaving something of a hole in his set. Luckily the convivial Dubliner is seasoned enough to fill the gap and then some.
Without this heavyweight theme last night’s gig became a jamboree bag of Halloween wigs, free sweets and relaxed but deceptively sharp banter, with a pick-and-mix of touring anecdotes a speciality. Notable highlights included a tale of bravely climbing to the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge and an inventive attempt to shock some kinky Norwegians.
Even when Maxwell resorted to familiar stand-up tropes such as Facebook, pitbulls and gastropubs he was quietly scintillating. On the subject of gentrification the self-deprecating London-based comic recently realised that “I’m the last scumbag on my road.”
If this felt like coasting at least he was coasting in style. It would have been interesting to hear more about his Muslim wife, mentioned in passing. Perhaps that could be his next show. Instead he moved on and recalled police hassle in Vegas for urinating in public when he was caught short. He did not scale the heights of Sydney Harbour Bridge onstage but he was certainly arresting.
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