Ivo Graham: Organised Fun is something of a response to his Fringe show last year, which his 3-year-old daughter apparently described as “boring talking”. This year’s show is the opposite to that – there is some talking, yes, but it is not boring.
As we walk in, highlights of Graham’s time on Taskmaster play across a screen that will be used for a variety of activities throughout the show. Also on the stage at the start is a rail of clothes – when the show actually starts, the audience are invited to pick an outfit for Graham to wear. This signals the start of a show that will be full of audience interaction and plenty of, as said in the title, organised fun.
Graham reveals to us, in his very relaxed but self deprecating way, his many encounters with ‘organised fun’ – his poor performances on game shows, his personalised game of Top Trumps, his New Year’s Eve game of Claudia Winkleman’s Traitors. These stories share the common thread that Graham has spent a lot of time trying to convince his friends and family (and strangers, the audience included) to play games with him.
Graham is a confident comedian, and his jokes all land well. In some instances, however, the show may lose some meaning if you are not aware of some of the cultural references. He opens his bit about The Traitors by talking about how he was wearing eyeliner, then says how he got a wig delivered to a friends house. To many of us it is immediately clear that this is a reference to Claudia Winkleman but to the American couple behind me if was a moment of brief confusion as to why Graham was wearing eyeliner on New Year’s Eve. He did attempt to explain the concept of The Traitors, and Top Trumps, but these things often become slightly less funny when explained in detail.
The first half of the show is your classic stand up, which is very enjoyable and really demonstrates Graham’s skill, but it is after this that Organised Fun really gets interesting, even innovative. Before the show, Graham reveals, he went along the queue and asked some audience members to fill in a survey, which was then made into Top Trumps cards. Two of these participants volunteered themselves to go on stage for a little bit of organised fun.
Graham is a very talented stand up who is comfortable on stage and talks with a great amount of ease. His ability to chat with the audience and actually get people involved in the show is impressive – I can’t think of many comics who could convince two adults to come on stage in front of a large audience to play a game of Top Trumps.
Ivo Graham: Organised Fun is on at 6.30pm in the Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond) until 27 August. Tickets are available here.
Image provided to The Student as press material.