Todd Barry: American Hot

It’s seven years since Todd Barry last played Edinburgh and you can’t help wondering what exactly he is doing here this time, arriving halfway through the month for 13 shows in that prestigious 3pm slot.

The Bronx-born comic is a well-known face in the US, having popped up in Flight of the Conchords, The Wrestler and on the TV standup circuit, and hardly needs practice doing longer sets as he tours the States regularly. Indeed, his tales of awkward US jaunts fill the first—and strongest—section of this show.

American Hot actually kicks off with an amusing if slightly overlong introductory video in which Barry and a stooge discuss whether using up several minutes of stage time with an introductory video is really fair on the audience. Well, quite.

Barry isn’t using the Fringe to showcase new material either, as a quick Google search will find him performing some of the show’s better gags at previous gigs. He doesn’t even adjust the set to suit the audience, with gags about NPR (National Public Radio) and Fritos still making the cut. In fairness he does address that issue late on, retelling the latter gag with Quavers replacing Fritos to prove that “I have been in a shop since I arrived.”

There are some fine moments here and many of those present hang on his every deadpan word. But several punchlines fall unexpectedly flat, and those hangdog features do seem to be saying "Why am I here?" as he surveys the numerous empty seats. Only he really knows.