Despite just being 26-years-old, Paul Kerensa an impressive CV: he has won ITV’s Take the Mike award, plus been a runner-up in a host of other awards; he writes for no less than ten radio shows and his television appearances include Weapons of Mass Distraction and The Weakest Link. With this sort of pedigree you’d expect his new Fringe show to be a delightful spectacle but, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to match up to his promise.
26 attempts to emulate Kiefer Sutherland’s hit television drama, 24, by using multiple split screens to spy on other Fringe shows and getting the audience to be counter terrorist officers, helping him thwart an evil plan to destroy all the ginger-haired people in Scotland.
On paper this may sound like a wonderful idea but in reality it is the weakest part of his show and simply seems to be nothing but a sly ploy to get bums on seats. Admittedly, the 24-esque montages are frequently amusing but they do peter out into obscurity.
Kerensa is at his happiest when he is doing what he does best and that’s losing the set pieces and sticking with stand up comedy. His style is warm and inviting to the audience and what is clear to everyone is that he is also a genuinely nice guy.
His material is competently delivered but is never hilarious, making this a pleasant evening if a forgettable one.
2/5
Martin Miller
