Opening with one of my favourite one-liners in the show, Kevin Bridges voices his concern over possible repercussions of Jimmy Carr’s recent tax avoidance scandal “wait ’till the press hear about me – I’m still signing on!”
And so begins Bridges’ latest stand-up offering, Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues.
The appeal of Kevin Bridges is his salt-of-the-earth, everyman appeal. While some comedy acts choose to approach life’s little challenges from the comfortable middle class, with smarts or simply from a surreal place we can only dream of, Kevin Bridges roots himself firmly in the “rough” streets of the nations council estates, and dare I say it might feel totally at home in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
While commenting on the economic crisis, Bridges is quick to inform the audience that many of his own friends are beyond unemployed, currently sitting in the much more accurate “unemployed as f**k” category. These of course are the very same unemployed that, by some twisted logic, the coalition are hoping to put to work for free, or as Bridges puts it, working for “self-esteem”.
“Hi is that British Gas? Listen mate, I’m skint but I feel terrific! I’m wondering, are you prepared to accept self-esteem? Well maybe I can just go on Skype and just smile at you, how’s that?”
The coalition’s back to work scheme isn’t the only casualty of the economic crisis however. With Bridges’ blunt observations on phrases like “double dip recession” also coming under fire. “That used to be a good thing, double dip! Since when is that a negative? These f**king bankers have ruined dib-dabs!”
The talents of a good comedian of course go beyond simply observing life, this is something we can all do, the real talent is in taking these observations and polishing them into a seamlessly natural act comprised of anecdotes and one-liners which appear to come from nowhere, almost entirely natural and utterly hilarious. Sadly hilarity is where Bridges’ act fall down for me, while I find his humour amusing, and he manages to raise more than a few laughs from me, he never manages to reach the extremes of his peers, a full-blown belly-laugh that you have no control over.
One thing to note here, the first half of Bridges’ latest show was by far funnier than the second, however I don’t think he managed to achieve the extended applause or standing ovation that some of the greatest comedians seem to garner almost effortlessly. His casual, conversational style occasionally makes you forget you’re watching a professional at work and instead you slip into the mode of listening to your mates down the pub – where if we’re honest everything is funny after a pint or two but you never stand and applaud the genius ranting from across the table.
Bridges’ is still a young comedian, aged just 25, and in that time he’s made some great waves in comedy. While his show is amusing and is peppered with true-to-life observations (Sunday’s school-in-the-morning television and a comprehensive explanation of a “ghostie” to name a couple) I feel he still has some way to go to reach the level of gravitas of some of his more experienced contemporaries.
All in all this show is definitely worth a watch if you’re having your mates round, particularly as you’ll find yourself nodding along in agreement to more than one of his comments, but it’s not the side-splitting demonstration of comedy wit we’ve come to expect from today’s circuit.
Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues is out on DVD and Blu-ray NOW!
[Rating:3/5]
