Reviewer: Amy Taylor: The Public Reviews
Lance is a performer, a visionary, a jack of all trades behind the stage on his two gay dads’ cruise ship, who longs to have this moment in the limelight. For one night only, he’s in town with his chat show, Late With Lance! and he’s invited Hugh Jackman, Liza Minelli and Miami Sound Machine to be his extra special guests. They just haven’t turned up yet.
The follow up to Marino’s previous one-man show, Desperately Seeking the Exit, performed at the 2012 and 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Late With Lance! is, a parody of that Edinburgh Fringe staple, the solo show. In Marino’s hands, the show is a send up of our celebrity-obsessed culture, a pastiche of the talk show confessional and a sneering comment on the quest for fame.
Underneath all that desperation and flair, Lance is a damaged, lonely man, yet, for what he lacks in actual talent and intelligence, he’s just so damn sweet. In lesser hands, Lance would be an unsympathetic character, but Marino makes him a completely sympathetic character. Marino’s energy and ability to relax and involve the audience is inspiring, because although it looks like Lance has no idea what he’s doing, the audience are completely under his control.
Although the jokey references to Edinburgh as ‘Edinburger’ wore a little thin near the end, you can’t help but Lance a man who is so disarmingly charming that when he asks members of the audience to get on stage in lieu of his missing acts, they agree willingly. A great follow up to his previous work, Late With Lance! Is delightful ray of sunshine at this year’s Fringe.
Runs until 30 August 2015
Submitted by Amy Taylor
