Kwame Asante grew up in London to Ghanaian parents and frequently visited family in Ghana throughout his childhood, quickly realising that he was growing up with significantly more privilege than his African cousins and friends. And what brought him to this realisation? Well, where his friends were thin and sometimes even malnourished, Asante was obese. It is this battle with his weight that forms the premise of his Fringe 2018 offering, Teenage Heartblob.
Asante is a likeable young gentleman and clearly highly intellectual. He is a doctor in a busy hospital when not on the comedy circuit and has many interesting tales to tell, not just from his medical background but also from his travels around the world. He knows how to tell a story and there are thought-provoking moments as he touches on some of the problems caused by being overweight and the constant battle it can be for some people to maintain a healthy BMI. However, the audience have come to see a comedy show and although when he does get to the punchline they are often incredibly witty, there are not enough of them to fully satisfy the Fringe audiences looking for laughs at this time of night.
It takes a lot of dedication to combine two all-encompassing careers and be successful in them and so great kudos must go to Dr Asante for that. Furthermore, with his shy, unassuming air and plentiful references to his family and girlfriend who he is clearly devoted to it would be impossible not to like this friendly comedian and his eloquent, albeit infrequent, gags.