Edinburgh Fringe 2017
Low Down
Chris Kent is now living in the UK. He is a father. Life is more confusing than ever.
Review
Chris Kent is easily the most talented comic storyteller this reviewer has ever heard…and I have heard a lot of people tell stories. Kent talks about the everyday things we all face and puts a comic flair to them that makes each incident a ridiculous, laughable adventure. Moving On, his new fringe show, is no exception. In this show, Kent discusses his move to the UK and the trauma of having his first child. “My wife and I moved to the UK two years ago to pursue my dream of being a stand up comedian. My wife didn’t have a dream.”
After his card was declined while trying to buy a drink, he realized how high the cost of living is in London and decided that he should get a real job. The thought didn’t really appeal to him so he watched motivational videos by Will Smith and it didn’t change his life as he had hoped. He tried being a vegan for a couple of hours. “I tried to be healthy and then decided I’d rather die earlier.”
When he and his wife knew they were having a baby, he realized he needed to become an adult and he tells us of his failed efforts to be a mature responsible potential father. He had many false starts, among them a disastrous episode in a hot tub and tells himself, ”You’re a dad now. Hot tubs are a thing of the past.”
He and his wife went to classes to prepare for the baby and decide to do hypno-birthing. They are told to learn to breathe “as if we had never breathed before” and the two of them also practiced positive affirmation. They learned that laughter can induce labor but sadly all their positive thoughts did not bring the baby to them any sooner. The major part of this story is Kent’s misadventures during the period between when the baby was due and when their little boy actually arrived.
It is impossible to recapture the flavour of this man’s storytelling in print. You have to hear the cadence of his speech and travel with him down each road of illogical disaster.
One cannot sing Kent’s praises enough. He transforms a frightening, horrific experience where he almost lost his wife in the birthing process into a delightful tale of hope and love sprinkled with laughter.
He gives us a beautiful hour in Moving On and an unforgettable peek into what it is like to go through a pregnancy and birth process from a man’s point of view. The audience lives through the drama and laughs at the human foibles that made it all bearable. Moving On is an absolute delight of a show and Chris Kent‘s storytelling dusts it with magic.
