For those new to Daniel J. Willis’s brand of humour, his new show on the final weekend of Camden Fringe may take some getting used to. An hour’s worth of short scripted sketches, some more funny than others, are slotted into a framework where he is being interviewed for a podcast. It’s a conceit that works and Willis is an engaging performer.
He covers everything from mindfulness apps to 90s band 5ive, from splitting up with his girlfriend to TV quiz Mastermind. As these references to popular culture suggest, Willis presumes his audience is somewhere in the late 30s age bracket. If you haven’t seen the film Love Actually, you won’t get one of the cleverest jokes of the set while a Borat joke goes over many people’s heads.
There is a little issue with consistency, however. A longish skit about the discovery of a doctored CV in a job interview has two very comic climaxes, but the next, about a brutally honest estate agent, goes nowhere and lacks even a punchline. Hopefully, gauging the audience’s reactions in these Camden Fringe shows will lead to a sharper set in the future.
The audience participation section, where a ‘volunteer’ must read from a script works very well and it would be good to have more of these scenes. It’s here, depending on the volunteer’s enthusiasm and where things are more unpredictable, we can see Willis’s quick ad-lib skills. For the rest of the show, reacting to the prerecorded voice of the podcast host, Willis has no room for manoeuvre. His show leaves only one direction.
He is a good mime, too, as seen in the opening sketch about a shopper who’s forgotten his wallet and again, perhaps, he could lean into this style a little more. Some of the sketches are somewhat absurd but once you know what you’re getting, it’s easy to find them increasingly funny. Quite what the title of the show means is anyone’s guess.
Runs until 25 August 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Getting down baby
