ComedyFestivalsReviewScotland

Vlad Ilich: Vladislav, Baby Don’t Hurt Me – Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, Pleasance Courtyard

Reviewer: Dominic Corr

Chess and comedy.

Not the two ‘C’ words you would slot side-by-side at the Festival Fringe, but far odder setups have occurred. In truth, the crux of North Macedonian comic Vlad Ilich’s Fringe debut is rather brilliant: a mash-up of their love for chess, with a heartfelt and honest routine around their family, upbringing, and the outbreak of war, all held together with an hour of laughter and insight.

Rising through the ranks of a local chess club, fending off his relatives until he meets the opponent he can’t quickly beat, his father; it all comes to a halt when war breaks out. The board is ready, the players in place, and the game is set. But Ilich isn’t quite so prepared. Bouncing with energy, half-nervous and the other of very tangible excitement, Ilich’s Fringe outing is a celebratory one with the structure down as they engage in audience pre-amble. It’s pleasant and takes dips into dark humour but feels forced where participants aren’t entirely on Ilich’s energy level. The chess metaphors and story elements should be more of a focus, leading their way into punchlines or tangents in the setup. This is Ilich’s intention, but occasionally, they lose their way of communicating it.

Ilich’s chatter with the audience is quite standard for a comic, but their experiences of coming to the UK offer a real killer sense of humour and a refreshing angle for well-tread steps from other comics. The political satire is sharp—too sharp, but necessarily so. It draws attention to how few in the audience are familiar with the Balkans conflicts surrounding NATO’s role in the former Yugoslavia’s break-apart.

A genius conceptual routine for an evidently gifted comic, the pre-amble surrounding the weight of Ilich’s material is what lets the real punch of the material hit through – fears that the darker gags might turn audiences away. The manoeuvres and the lack of keeping the audience on their toes make for a stand-up experience that has lashings of potential, skittered around with nervous and rushed energy. Threading the humour into the audience interactions and anecdotes about growing up, with a more precise direction and breathing space, Vladislav, Baby Don’t Hurt Me has potential as a terrific debut performance.

Runs until 25 August 2024 | Image: Contributed

The Reviews Hub Score

A Genius Comedic Set-Up

Show More

Related Articles

Back to top button
The Reviews Hub