Comedian Rhys James, known for his appearance on Mock the Week (RIP) – and is not the footballer with the same name – brings his latest show Spilt Milk to Edinburgh Fringe.
James is obsessed with his name. He enters the stage with a playback of sports commentary screaming his name. The only catch is, while he’s had his name longer, it’s now more famously associated with a footballer. James – our James, the one who no longer belongs to the 1% since his regular gig, Mock the Week, ended last year – has rants about this. And so many other topics: Rail Cards; marriage and children; ‘CEO mindset’; Love Island intros; and, most importantly, why he needs the £1 his audience saves on Concession Tickets (see note above about no longer being a member of the 1%).
Occupying the whole stage in a frantic state as he convinces us about his philosophy on new year’s resolutions, James enters and exits with high energy, never letting it dip. He shows a hyper awareness of his audience demographic on the day, especially commenting on how it skews towards the older side of the spectrum. It would then seem that his routine – most of which addresses his experiences of being in his 30s – wouldn’t move well around the room. In fact, he delivers zinger after zinger in his well-crafted script, responding quickly to our reactions and pauses. This is a man who has gone through his set with a fine-toothed comb, ensuring a high ratio of laughs per minute and some fantastic spiderweb-like callbacks. He has such faith in his set that he builds up a routine about the resolutions and allows a line from a chosen audience member to be his final say. And it works.
There will be no crying over this Spilt Milk, unless it’s tears of laughter.
Spilt Milk runs until 20 Aug 2023 at Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Once at 19:30.