Now, this reviewer has seen Andre Vincent before. So this reviewer thought this would be an easy show to review. So easy, in fact, that I had most of it written before I even saw the show. So this reviewer has just spent the best part of an evening wondering how to put a genuinely original show into enough words to justify selling an organ to see it. Or possibly not, given the subject material. And so that is why Andre Vincent has just taught me a lesson in preconceptions and misconceptions. But I guess that’s one of the things that dealing with cancer does for you.
Andre Vincent has changed. Gone is the cheeky chappie goatee; gone are the Hawaiian shirts and the piercing eyes. Diagnosed with a kidney tumour earlier this year, he saw how other people with cancer reacted to it, and how his friends and family reacted to him. He decided to make a short video of the operation, and do a comedy show about his experiences. It’s readily apparent how this has affected him: he seems a lot more physically relaxed, but the razor wit is still intact and as intense as ever.
Traditionally uncomfortable bedfellows, the comedy of cancer is easily as funny as anything else you’re likely to see this year, and although the show marks uncharted territory, Andre is upbeat, sincere and open about his affliction, whilst maintaining his trademark quips and superb one-liners, so don’t feel uncomfortable when he openly talks about cat scans and endoscopes, because he certainly doesn’t.
An often hilarious and thoughtful show, Andre Vincent isn’t just unwell; he’s also a bit sick, at times extremely poignant, and very, very funny indeed.
5/5
Simon Ferguson
