Review: Andrew Maxwell: The Bare Maximum

Andrew Maxwell is a Fringe staple for a reason: in The Bare Maximum he flexes his stand-up credentials with a well-crafted and slickly delivered hour sure to please the crowd. 

The show meanders easily between the personal and the political, a punchline never far away even when Maxwell relishes the journey to get there, his boldest and best jokes building up over minutes to be knocked down with an incisive one-liner. Liz Truss, rural Irish neighbours, and the infamous New York-Dublin portal all come in for ribbing in a good-natured set that skips along nicely across the hour. And there is depth here too, the show's final section focusing on family and closing on a sentimental note that captivates and moves the audience without sacrificing any laughs. 

Maxwell turned 50 this year and it has changed him, he tells the audience: his sexual proclivities; his ability to laugh at himself; how seriously he takes various elements of life. One thing it hasn’t much changed is his approach to comedy, which is no bad thing having hit upon a winning formula over a long and storied stand-up career. Audiences will expect an assured and easy-going hour in a safe – and funny – pair of hands, and they won’t be disappointed.