Previewing his 5th solo show “Fablemonger”, Kent Valentine arrived at the Albion Hotel in Brighton to take part in the £5 Fringe. Kent is an Australian comedian who is renowned for his ability to immerse the audience in autobiographical narrative. As his own protagonist, he takes a handful of memorable moments from his past and weaves a tapestry of pithy prose.
Having no previous awareness of this particular comedian, I had no preconceptions of how this show would develop. As he took to the front, he appeared to be shrouded in self depreciation which made his entrance a little underwhelming. This filled me with the sort of unease you might experience when watching an entrant walk uncomfortably into an audition.
I was completely and utterly wrong.
From the moment Kent addressed the audience, his personality spilled out and engulfed the attention of the audience for the entire duration of his show. Although it may appear that Kent travels fairly light in terms of material quantity, the quality and level of detail he injects into each story makes “Fablemonger” truly compelling.
Kent manages to paint an emotional masterpiece of awkward, poignant and sometimes even explosive situations. We were taken on a journey through childhood foolishness, as well as more recent situations involving computer games, the creation of child and trying to pick the correct baby transportation apparatus. The dryly delivered descriptive commentary of these personal memories seems to open a window into the glorious yet rather insane logic of this witty man. He has developed the fine art of prolonging suspense until you physically try and hide yourself from the inevitable crescendo to the magnificently unbelievable finale of each story.
I felt Kent’s Fablemonger show was very well structured and beautifully delivered. I heartily recommend adding it to your list of shows to see at the Fringe this year.
http://www.kentvalentine.com/index.html
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5 years ago
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