Stephen Grant has been second in everything all his life. School, job interviews, relationships… Going through a rough time himself, his show, though it draws some laughter from the audience, feels more like a cathartic explorations of all that is going wrong with him at the moment than a stand up show. Grant’s divorce is really affecting him, even if he pretends he is fine about it.
A real pity though, since his show opens with such an energetic and clever bang. On a white screen in front of us, the supporting act welcomes us. It’s a computer screen. For the first ten minutes of the show, the computer screen chats in real-time with the audience. It asks questions, cracks jokes, interacts with the public. Without a doubt, they are the best ten minutes of an introduction you will ever see. And in fact, they are the best ten minutes in Grant’s whole act.
Though he does have some funny observational stuff, Grant’s routine feels flat, full of obvious jokes: the segment about the inventions that Scotsmen have supposed to have invented but were, in fact, discovered by other people before them has been done before, and Grant drags it to soporific length. He also seems quite depressed, or like a man trying to laugh at the worst of situations, which doesn’t make for great stand up.
Grant might feel that he comes second in everything, but he need not worry. After this show, he might be last option for next year’s Fringe for many of his audience.
2/5 
Adrian G. Velazquez
