Exactly what it says on the tin, Kev F’s Rude Health turns in to the Gilded Balloon and takes us on an A-Z journey of Kevin’s findings whilst researching for a TV show about sexual health. We start with anal sex, drift quickly through balls, neatly sidestep chlamydia and then it all falls apart. After veering precariously off on several unrelated tangents, he soon abandons the whole plan, and proceeds to talk a small and uninterested audience through a well rehearsed but ultimately unfunny set of jokes, one liners and scenarios, dropping in the occasional reference to the original topic of the show.
On one hand, Kevin must get full marks for effort, as he does his best to stick to his material and coax an admittedly subdued and difficult audience out of it’s sullen shell, but the material is merely amusing at best, and the delivery is much better suited to the TV show background on which the first part of the performance is based, than an Edinburgh Fringe stage. He does, however, gain some redemption points for a genuinely original and witty swipe at Michael Jackson, taking on an aural translation of ‘Earth Song’, revealing the self-proclaimed king of pops secret gibberish code.
The planned format relies heavily on audience participation, and Kevin would undoubtedly fare better with a well lubricated capacity crowd later at night, as the audience at the show reviewed did him no favours at all. He relies throughout on various sexual aids to back his plans, and it should be known that this particular reviewer ended the show in vibrating black pants, at the remote controlled mercy of a particularly vindictive GB staff member. I’m afraid to admit that I got more out of this show than anyone else, Kev F included.
2/5
Simon Ferguson
