Edinburgh Festival Fringe REVIEW Stephen Carlin, ‘Gambling Man’ ****

Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
The Pleasance ‘This’ 18:00pm daily

Scottish comedian Stephen Carlin gives a funny and anecdotal view of how we all gamble in life and provides truly humorous insight into his own perplexing former addiction to the ‘odd punt’ in this hour-long performance.

Offering an entertaining view of life’s gambles from conception to grave, and all points in between, Stephen utilises personal experiences of the trials and tribulations of the ‘gamble’ in decision-making processes life throws at all of us as a backdrop for laughter, (and there was plenty of it).

Whether it’s; Autism v Measles, Fudge v Tablet, Religion v Atheism or Scratchcards v the National Lottery, Mr Carlin manages to generate a string of entertaining perspectives which had the audience nodding with comic appreciation.

A ‘Black Sheep’ Uncle, Begbie of Trainspotting fame, Richard Burton, Russell Brand, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, (the latter two perhaps not so lucky) all come under witty inspection as to human (or is that male – see the show you’ll understand) risk taking. A new wonder drug comes under equal scrutiny as a number of the side effects have potential use (well, for some at least).

A very funny examination of Scotland’s addiction to sugar, sugar sweeties and all things bad for your teeth comes under (dental) examination during the show; during which a hilarious twist on what might become a breakthrough in Scottish fusion cooking comes to life.

Given the odds of 50,000,000 to 1 to be able to see the show in the first place (he’ll explain), I suggest you take a very minor gamble on spending an hour of your life in Stephen Carlin’s company, if nothing else you’ll be guaranteed a few good laughs.

4 out of 5

Submitted by James Stevenson