Chris McCausland

CHORTLE
Chris McCausland –Review
4 stars

Great show, proper stand up, honest straightforward and balls-out funny, Chris McCausland has nailed this year’s Edinburgh show.

He’s disarmingly honest about the catch-all title and poster design, which he had to dream up months before he a notion of what the show is about.  Because it’s a festival show he’s tacked on a message bit, but it’s so tongue-in-cheek (nature of time, blah blah) that it doesn’t impede your enjoyment of some rattling good storytelling and punchy comedy. 

By being so open about how a show is cobbled together – and he’s not the only one to do it ­– he has you onside immediately.  He talks about what he thinks he’s supposed to do (have a high concept) but, in fact, this is just excellent stand-up without gimmicks. 

He covers some pretty old standards of Scouse stereotyping, fundamental differences between men and women which show up in relationships, middle class and working class lifestyles how Brits struggle in the heat, like a bargain and a beer, but it’s all got a fresh and personal twist on it. 

He deploys the full range of snappy short jokes and has a glorious bit of storytelling  about a gallery bedroom where his eloquence and phrasing are a total pleasure, reminiscent of Gerard Hoffnung or Bob Newhart, if you’ve ever listened to your parents’ old vinyl or a Radio Four clip show.

This was an hour of real belly-laughs for me.

Date of live review: Wednesday 10th Aug, ’11
Review by Julia Chamberlain  

HAIRLINE
Chris McCausland – Big Time
2011, 4 stars, Comedy
Written by Beth Wilson

Chris McCausland says his girlfriend didn’t like his previous Fringe show; there were a few too many stories about her in it.

She’s a hovering presence over much of this year’s offering, as well; although McCausland starts out on the broader theme of Time, he criss-crosses it with a plethora of very down-to-earth anecdotes, about relativity and Topshop, ageing and the gym, and the behaviour of space and gravity in a small studio flat.

His facility with language is a treat, whether he’s evoking the interior of a clothes shop, or defending himself from suicidal fruit, and the set itself is well-paced, with enough tangents to put flesh on the underlying themes without becoming lost in a world of diminishing digressions.

His humour isn’t profoundly ground-breaking, and those who have read his blog may recognise one or two bits, but these are solid and well-crafted, and the delivery brings out each mote of humour to its best advantage.

By turns wry, self-depreciating and deadpan, McCausland is instantly likeable, and has the audience on his side from the start. His dry delivery and well-placed comic timing have his listeners chuckling in their seats throughout – at times laughing out loud; a particular favourite with the crowd is a brilliant story about the flight-shy Scouser.

Quite what his girlfriend will think when she hears about the various goings-on in their fridge is anyone’s guess, but that’ll be another story – and hopefully, another Fringe show next year.
4/5 
Beth Wilson

Culture Vulture
Chris McCausland: Big Time 
5 STARS

Chris McCausland’s Fringe show is notionally about time. But, by his own admission, Big Time is just a title he came up with when he was hurried into supplying text for the Fringe brochure earlier this year. There is no big concept behind this show from the blind comedian. However, what McCausland does deliver is an hour of shaggy dog stories based on the scrapes he finds himself in.

McCausland has no shortage of funny tales to tell, including the hours wasted waiting outside Top Shop for his girlfriend, his failure to hide his disappointment at being served Skol lager on a trip to Rio de Janeiro and a long skit on falling out of a loft bed.

This is timeless comedy and McCausland’s set is both wry and self-deprecating. He’s a natural story-teller, just like his fellow Scouse comedian John Bishop, and it’s no surprise that he’s a firm favourite on the Fringe.

ONE4REVIEW
Chris McCausland: Big Time

4 Star ****

This is the third time I had the chance to see Chris McAusland in the Fringe and I’m pleased to say the third time I’d enjoyed his show.

For those who don’t know Chris is a blind comic and although this has no bearing on his comedic abilities obviously it impacts on his life and it’s really the last year, since Fringe 2010 that is the theme of this years show.

Now Chris has had quite a few happenings in the past twelve months, body parts not functioning as well as they should, travel toBrazilwith his girlfriend moving flat and being attacked by middle class food in his fridge.

McAusland has a knack of turning these events in to material, and paints the pictures eloquently, eliciting laughter from all corners of his sold out venue.

Okay the finger maybe pointed that this show was a safer option than his previous one, but for me and most others who wanted to be entertained for an hour it certainly fitted the bill.

The underlying message was that time goes quicker as one gets older, well I look forward to seeing his 2012 show in the next couple of months then.
Reviewed by Geoff

THREE WEEKS
Thursday August 18th, 2011 23:07
4 STARS
Written by Emma Keaveney

“I feel I should tell you that, yes, I am blind. Just in case some of you are sitting there thinking ‘Christ, how drunk is this guy?’” So begins Chris McCausland’s offering of clever and endearingly self-deprecating stand-up comedy. McCausland turns his wry, honest wit to topics such as the male experience of Topshop and middle-class groceries. His everyman humour can also be slightly surreal, as he paints us pictures with fantastical words and images. The effect is utterly charming and it’s almost impossible to dislike him. The vague theme of the show is time and it’s bookended by lovely anecdotes on the relativity of it. Indeed, this hour long show flew by, somewhat proving McCausland’s point.
tw rating 4/5

Chris McCausland- Emotional Retard
Posted on 18/08/2010 by one4review
*****

5 Stars

I became aware of Chris McCausland during Fringe 2009 when I saw his show on a recommendation, and was pleased to see that he had returned for 2010.

McCausland is a blind comic, though apart from an occasional reference initially, he doesn’t labour the point. He has a wicked sense of humour and a pleasant delivery style, often self deprecating always clever. He is the master of the call-back setting up things earlier to re-introduce later and through out the entire gig had the crowded venue in the palm of his hand.

Part of his intro was that last year he was in a permanent building, thought he did well and ended up in a portacabin. I feel that they should be making room in a far plusher space for next year as I’m sure this guy will be huge in the very near future.

*****

Here is the first review for my show. Its from the festival magazine Three Weeks and yep they are spot on about the vids during the show as they were in on a night before we had ironed out a lot of problems and yes, they did slow down the show quite a bit. At one point Norton Anti-Virus even got involved. Hopefully all seems to be running smoothly now though. They’ve also got the time and the price of the show wrong so maybe they were watching somebody else…

Chris McCausland – Emotional Retard
Bound & Gagged Comedy by Arrangement With Beyond Compere
Ever wanted to take a saw to Johnny Depp’s wheelie-bin? Well, Chris McCausland has. This blind comedian from Liverpool asked the audience to laugh out loud at his show – “I can’t see smiles” – but no encouragement was needed: McCausland is the complete article. Tackling topics from complaint mail, to that last Kit-Kat in the fridge, McCausland’s dry, self-deprecating humour kept the laughs coming. There were several video sections to his performance that are simply not necessary, since he is himself so compelling, and served only to slow down what was otherwise a pacey and dynamic performance. Watch out for Chris McCausland in the future – particularly if your name’s Johnny Depp.
Pleasance Courtyard, 7-10, 12-17, 19-30 Aug, 5.15pm (6.15pm), £6.00, fpp 44
tw rating 4/5