Will Franken – The Stuff They Put in Sleep review

Will Franken could very well be a comedy genius. Will Franken could also just as easily be the comedic equivalent of ‘the emperor’s new clothes.’ In my humble opinion he’s probably a bit of both, ‘the emperor’s new genius’ if you like.

Words that you could use to describe his unique style of comedy might include: surreal, freewheeling, goofball, dreamlike, confusing, possessed, post-modern and deconstructed. But basically it’s just a very clever American guy on stage, fucking around, flipping effortlessly and sometimes relentlessly from one weird character to another.

Some set pieces are absolutely sublime, like his Goodfella Jihadist or his levitating father skit. Other pieces are less successful, though no less inventive. His ability to inhabit so many varied personalities with such perfect realisation is truly astonishing. However, after an hour or so you’re left feeling a little more confused and befuddled than exquisitely satisfied and you leave with that most tricky of existential questions in your mind: ‘So what’s all this about then?’

It’s impressive, amusing and innovative, but there’s just some intangible missing ‘something’ which would lift it into the stratosphere.

‘Will Franken – The Stuff They Put in Sleep’ is at Just the Tonic at the Caves, 10.40pm