by **** (out of 5)
In 1991, Frank Skinner won the top prize at the Edinburgh Fringe (then known as the Perrier Award), beating out Eddie Izzard, Lily Savage and Jack Dee.
Three decades later (plus a year or two for the pandemic), and Skinner has since earned his MBE. And yet, he’s still drawn to “knob jokes.” Hence, the title. Even when there are multiple children (one boy as young as 8) sitting front row center for Skinner’s performance on Friday, the second night of his Fringe run. To their mum and anyone else who might be offended, Skinner has a quip at the ready: “If you’re a vegan, don’t go to the butcher.”
He also compares himself to “a village blacksmith,” as well as the guy who hits the hammer at the fairgrounds. But Skinner not only is aware of whom he might offend in his audiences this month, but also why they might take offense, for he has retained enough self-awareness to note how much comedy and public speaking have changed (or been forced to change) in the 36 years since his first stand-up gig in 1987. That just provides him with opportunities to offer new perspectives on his old knob jokes, such as acknowledging the time has come for the heterosexual blowjob to end.
More than three decades removed from his Fringe breakthrough, Skinner also acknowledges audiences would have a better story to tell their friends if his skills had diminished, if his comedy now were shite. The truth, however, remains: He’s a master storyteller and craftsman of jokes. So even on an opening night with plenty to distract him, and with audience members too young to even understand his pop cultural references, let alone his sexual references, you’ll leave amazed at how easily Skinner can roll with the punches and the punchlines.
Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt runs through Aug. 27 at Assembly George Square’s Gordon Aikman Theatre.
