by ⭐⭐⭐½
The acts I tend to see playing the Cabaret Bar in Pleasance Courtyard each Fringe tend to be some of the most polished club comedians. True professionals at the top of their game. And Hal Cruttenden is no exception.
A Best Newcomer nominee way back at the 2002 Fringe, Cruttenden draws large adoring crowds, even if most of his audience members may look nothing like newcomers themselves. They are the demographic, though, who can appreciate that this is is second Fringe show joking about his divorce, just finally getting over it four years after the dissolution. They also can identify the song playing when he enters the room, the James Bond theme “Nobody Does It Better.” Even if Cruttenden’s ex-wife would surely disagree with the song choice.
But there was a method to his madness in also selecting “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child for his pre-show playlist.
He also leans into the premise of his show by immediately calling himself out for picking on audience members, and letting us know that for as many gags as he might make at the expense of Liz Truss or Donald Trump or any celebrity, he openly admits that he’d “probably fold like a deck chair” if he were to meet any of his famous targets and learn that they were fans of his comedy. And even if they deserve getting mocked, why wouldn’t they be fans of Hal? Unless his sister Abigail was also in the room, of course.
Hal Cruttenden: Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It plays Pleasance Cabaret Bar through Aug. 24, 2025.
