Felix Dexter has starred in TV gold such as Alan Partridge, Absolutely Fabulous and the Fast Show, as well as winning a host of awards for his Radio 4 comedy, Down the Line. He was also voted Comedian of the Year by Time Out magazine. To say Dexter has an impeccable CV would not even begin to do it justice.
He now returns to the Edinburgh Fringe but those expecting to be blown away by a comedic hurricane should brace themselves for disappointment. His show, Multiple Personalities, takes three of his popular characters from his BBC2 comedy, Bellamy’s People, and allows them to banter with the audience. A fine idea with lots of potential for hilarity but to those unfamiliar with the cult show (as many will be), many of the jokes went over the heads of audience members.
Aubrey Dubission, the frightfully English public school character; Julius Olufemwe from Zimbabwe who loves all things Englishl; and Early D, a young rap artist and entrepreneur, are all moderately funny if not hugely unmemorable.
Dexter clearly enjoys bantering with the crowd, though, keeping everyone laughing , even if he doesn’t manage to pull any big belly laughs from the material.
The show is topped and tailed by Dexter doing his own stand up routine, which is significantly better and includes some interesting and funny stories about performing at a prison. But again he never quite nails the comedy and by the time he reaches his finale he throws it all away, telling a story about female orgasms which ends on a muted joke that Dexter almost seems to shrug off.
2/5 
Martin Miller
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