Chris McCausland: Not Blind Enough

Chris McCausland has never defined his comedy by his blindness. However, a recent encounter with a TV executive who told him that he was not blind enough for TV, that he should take advantage of this ‘unique selling point’, has pushed him to address the issue head on. The result is a thoughtful hour which reveals as much about the comedy industry as it does about issues of disability, but tends towards sombre reflection rather than consistent laughter.

Much of McCausland’s show is a personal reflection on what he, as a comedian who happens to be blind, should discuss in standup. He sends up the idea of constructing an entire hour around blindness, likening his plight to that of female comedians-in that there is material to be found in his particular ‘USP’- and commenting on how oversaturation on a subject can yield diminishing returns. He bemoans the ethos behind the Paralympics, arguing that it’s a shame for anyone to be defined as ‘less than Olympic’ when they can, in many cases, compete in sport unaffected by their disability. These are all good points, carefully made, if noticeably without considerable laughter.

But there is much to reflect on in Not Blind Enough. McCausland’s depiction of the standup world as increasingly television-centred and, as a result, dangerously reductive, is particularly apt and nicely encapsulates some of the problems of the shifting roles of the Edinburgh Fringe. The relative lack of laughter is an issue here, however McCausland compensates by demonstrating a keen reflexivity and a promising ability to grapple with important subjects.