Mark Dolan: Sharing Too Much

If you’re not already aware that Mark Dolan is a TV presenter, Sharing Too Much lets you know within minutes. Verbal tics like “Fantastic!”, “Lovely!” or “I love it!” not enough? Then the sense that he’s about to introduce the real standup act will be. Except he never does. 

Dolan's patronising opening brings us up to speed on the royal wedding, the riots and the London Olympics - a time span this set seems to resemble. He then devotes 40% of Sharing Too Much to pestering the front row with the inane likes of “Is this your mum?” and “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Since we’re sharing, how exactly did Dolan prepare for his Fringe run? 

The parts that could justifiably be called material turn out to be painfully misjudged, including a tip to bring human rights atrocity photos into the bedroom because apparently "angry sex" is great. In delivery meanwhile, Balls of Steel host Dolan favours the "that's what she said" school of comic timing. A sample? “My wife hired a nanny who was ‘wow’ ugly... But I still had sex with her.”

It’s so bad you may question whether this isn’t some meta-comedy character act – perhaps a sort of Hugh-Grant-from-Bridget-Jones type, floundering past the film’s conclusion with Helen Fielding no longer penning his lines. No, Dolan is more like that compere whose stage time provides an opportunity to get the beers in. You have an hour – get lots.