After his mammoth record-breaking shows of the last two years, Mark Watson is becoming something of a Fringe celebrity, so it would be easy for him to coast on this new found fame. Thankfully he doesn’t believe in taking the easy route and has put as much effort into his stand-up as he has into his ridiculous feats of comic endurance.
Focusing on his own morbid fascination with death, Watson has decided to equate his show with the last fifty years of his life, with each minute representing a new year. While he obviously can’t give a blow by blow account of his declining years, Watson does manage to make some delightful generalisations of his later years and feeds off a number of accepted stereotypes, crafting each into his own personification.
Clever, astute and always amusing, Watson is a born entertainer who thrives of making people happy. He is not the sort of comedian who believes in bullying his audience and gives of the impression that he would rather sit down for a chat over a cuppa than harangue the easy targets.
It seems that splitting from Rhod Gilbert this year is the best thing that either comic has ever done, as they’re solo shows are better than their collective work, and it’s clear that Watson is a rising star in his own right. The endearing Welshman is an absolute delight to behold, so catch him now before he puts his demons to bed and veers off in a new direction.
4/5
Richard Biggs
