Phil Nichol: Twenty

"This isn't a five-star show. It's a four-star show that got lucky", warns Phil Nichol by way of introduction to his latest compilation hour. His faith in his own work is well-earned, but Twenty doesn't quite manage to capture the brilliance of his act from years gone by. 

Existing as a sort of anthology highlights package from his back-catalogue of Fringe outings—he's had 20 of them, to be precise—Nichol's anniversary present to himself is a raucous journey through the timeline of his career. With each revisited segment or character, he essentially begins the show again, complete with stage entrance, lighting cues, and audience being told to offer a standing ovation. The problem with this is that it doesn't exactly make for smooth segues, and generally it feels disjointed. He's haphazardly lurching between skits created 10 years apart from one another without pausing to fully establish context.

There would always be structural issues with this type of show though, and once he's into the swing of a routine it feels like he's back on solid comic ground. The musical interludes plucked from his vast library are especially fun, and they're performed with such ferocious energy you forget he's been grinding them out for years.

Some of the skits lose the layer of irony they had when first performed – his old bits on stereotypes now seem more offensive than subtly satirical. But it's still an enjoyable glimpse into his extensive back catalogue.