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Edinburgh Fringe 2018

Laurence Clarke: An Irresponsible Guide to Parenting

Laurence Clark

Genre: Comedy, Storytelling

Venue: Assembly George Square The Box

Festival:


Low Down

Growing up Laurence never saw dads with cerebral palsy; which made him think he’d never be a parent himself. This is the funny and heart-warming story of how Laurence and his wife traverse the ups and downs of parenthood – aided and hindered by two live-wire sons.

Review

As if parenting wasn’t a tough enough gig without offensive and ignorant comments from complete strangers Laurence is also beset with a lack of confidence about his ability to be a parent. Will his kids like Doctor Who as much as him? Does his inability to look after a cactus mean that he will forget to feed and change the baby? Which Disney character best reflects his personality?

Times are slowly changing but pockets of prejudice and stupidity still exist in the online trolling community of self-appointed parenting gurus and disability experts. When a documentary that Laurence and his wife featured in is uploaded to You Tube the tip tapping of troll claws on keyboards is not far behind and soon stupid comments pop up from people who seem to think being a wheelchair user means you are incapable of dressing yourself let along a baby. Luckily Laurence has a very robust sense of humour and an eye for the main chance so with the help of his young sons and Disney’s Aladin he turns this brush with the dregs of humanity into a funny hour of family friendly comedy.

Laurence Clark and his family are a fun bunch to spend an hour with, a refreshing tonic to perk you up after a long day at the Fringe and set you up nicely for the evening.

 

 

Published