Review: Alex Kitson: Must I Paint You A Picture?

At least one comic at this year’s Fringe is mock-complaining about being on too early for his act (the aptly-named Ed Night), but the opposite can also apply. Alex Kitson’s show ends at nearly midnight in the often-experimental Wee Yurt, and there were pre-Fringe hints about a dark revelation. But the Devonshire debutant is too amiable to really get his hands dirty, for now. 

A bundle of nervy chatter, Kitson has the wired energy of a young Mark Watson – without the faux Welshness – and often affects a look of wide-eyed surprise at his own punchlines, like a puppy breaking wind. The material itself is fine, mostly concerning the late development of his love-life, and moving back to the family home, but is a lot less weighty than he thinks. 

After losing a TV spot – which clearly really hurts – he’s advised to be more personal, hence this show, and, presumably, slot. But the ‘biggest secret’ he builds towards – a troubling few days in the US – is mostly played for laughs, and any lasting resonance isn’t really clear.

Indeed, Kitson does tend to over-giggle at his own jokes. Let’s see if he’s still finding it so funny a few weeks in: that’s when the real darkness often descends.