George Ryegold: Adulterated

Addressing third world poverty and trends in pornography would seem straightforwardly topical if tackled by most comedians. But not for Dr George Ryegold. His scholarly, lexiconic examination of western attitudes to culture, debauchery and money is explosive. Slowly and carefully unwrapped, he immerses us in the most depraved, adulterated behaviour, from outright weird sexual practices to hideous Japanese art.

This is deep, deep parody, tearing apart the faux-charity and propriety of the West, along with himself in the process, to challenge and change us. The main chunk of the routine is spent on the idea of farming impoverished children in Africa, to breed them for meat, ensuring they are cared for up until their point of maturity. Indeed this is shocking, dangerously close to slipping away from satire, but Ryegold occasionally produces miraculous comedy which slams the capitalist-induced haze of problem-solving that the western world endures. Who’d have thought that this could be segued into a detailed and quite vivid enactment of a Kama Sutra-style sex position? Unbelievably, Ryegold makes it work.

At times however, the gig really flies off the rails, turning uncomfortable, which may mean that Ryegold has to reign it back in just ever so slightly to keep us teetering on the brink of what is acceptable and what can be burlesqued. Though his pedestrian pace juxtaposes well with the horrific content, it suffers at times from building any momentum and maintains a steady line throughout. If this is tweaked, this set will become truly impressive.