by **** (out of 5)
Milo Edwards returns to the Fringe this year with a show that deliberately takes on at least one specifically influential comedy critic who described him last summer as displaying “a typical lack of sentimentality.” It wasn’t me. But the two less-than-stellar reviews Edwards did receive decidedly struck a nerve with him, as he wonders how, having been orphaned by the age of 30, he’s supposed to have developed an uplifting message at the end of his hour. “But you can’t write a Michael McIntyre bit about my life,” he maintains. Or can he? Edwards will amuse us in his attempt at aping McIntyre and adapting it to Milo’s life.
Edwards finds reasons to feel sentimental about his 95-year-old grandmother, Peg, who is still alive and part of his life, about his neighbors, and even about the state of Britain. He waxes wise about how politics may just boil down to how much we want to welcome refugees versus how much they’ll impact efficient trash bin collections. People as a whole may such, but individuals can be good people or nice boys like Michael Owen.
He claims this isn’t a noontime show, but perhaps more befitting the 6 o’clock evening hour. Regardless, he’s determined to leave us on an uplifting note this time around. Courtesy of the kindness of strangers … and Kwik-Fit.
Milo Edwards: Sentimental runs through Aug. 27 at Monkey Barrel Comedy, The Tron
