To state the obvious, there are a lot of very weird American humourists at the Fringe this year, many so out there you’d be pushing it describing them as anything so mundane as ‘comedians’.
Ikechukwu Ufomadu’s ‘Amusements’ does essentially look like a trad stand-up set – one guy and a microphone – but the actual content is totally out there, probably closer to a pastiche of American public speaking than anything.
From the awkwardly long pause as he looks through his notes before he starts the show, to the bit where he stares at his own name written down and attempts to pronounce it in complete bafflement, via segments where he simply reads out passages of ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Hamlet’, or attempts to sing the alphabet in a Sinatra style, it’s all very, very strange. But very funny.
It’s difficult to exactly deduce what Ufomadu means by any of this, at least specifically, but with his immaculate tux and literal pastiche of JFK early on, he seems to be on to something about the vacuousness of American politicians (or public figures at any rate).
The entire show is essentially like a single, deranged after-dinner speech delivered directly to the audience in the room, Ufomadu speaking with a sort of befuddled conviction as he spouts what is essentially nonsense with the assurance of a man used to being listened to. Meanwhile a bouncy, shopping channel-style soundbed plays in the background, underpinning the vacuousness of it all.
I wouldn’t say he’s sending up any particular politics: I think Kennedy is singled out because of his lofty oratory and because it’s funny to hear Ufomadu speak in his accent. To some extent I think he’s genuinely just fascinated by the idea of public speaking: he frequently dissects the psychology of the room and the role of the audience in it, albeit always in ways that make him sound like he’s just awkwardly beamed in from another planet.
‘Amusements’ surely won’t amuse everybody, though Ufomadu pretty much won over the audience I saw it with. You could call it ‘anti-comedy’, but the sheer absurdity of it is extremely funny (plus on the down low he does actually throws in a few excellent jokes).
To be honest I have absolutely no idea what Ikechukwu Ufomadu actually stands for – but he gets my vote!
