“Small but perfectly formed… which is almost the exact opposite of what the doctor said to my mother at my birth“, this was the opening line from our clown for the evening when he saw the crowd that he would be playing to at this late afternoon gig. For some, this smaller audience may have been discouraging but Eddy Mackenzie put on a show with a level of gusto and heart could have rocked a packed-out Soho Theatre.

It’s not often that you find listings for stand-up shows before 5pm on a weekday at the Brighton Fringe, but when we do, we often jump at them (it also helps that a good pal of ours happened to be working at the musical comedy awards the other week, and mentioned that this guy was thoroughly entertaining). The venue was a new one for us. but ‘Presumably Ed’s’ is undeniably fringe-cool, particularly the police line-up wall that you pass on the way to the gig space – I challenge anyone to not take a ‘Usual Suspects’ style selfie.

Eddy Mackenzie is a cannonball of joy; his voice has an almost wizard-like quality and offers a complete juxtaposition to the pitch of his incredibly contagious laugh. This show worked because our clown knew how to use his audience, not for banter but as accompaniment to his music – and when you see a performer giving the effort that he clearly does on stage it is hard to not get involved.

From the opening intro song – our clowns take on ‘Eleanor Rigby’ – to the attempt at an emotional finale, this show was an absolute joy and I truly hope that Eddy finds his deserved audience when he performs at The Stand during the Edinburgh Fringe later this year.

Clown Stars * * * *

@Presuming Ed’s, Brighton