Opinion: In praise of Andrew Lawrence
Image: Eva Zandman
Peter Dixon, from Funny Way To Be Comedy Club, explains why booking Andrew Lawrence for their Barnard Castle show last Saturday was one of his best moves ever…
Our Whit Weekend show, as part of the Barnard Castle Meet, was another tour show: Andrew Lawrence is Coming To Get You.
To meet Andrew Lawrence is a total joy. He is a true gentleman, very unassuming and humble. He has a keen grasp of the workings of comedy and his analysis of the comedy scene is most insightful. People who met him on the night described him as quietly spoken and surprisingly quite shy.
However, when he walked onto the stage things were quite different. It wasn’t that his character changed, but, with a warm and charismatic stage presence, despite his tiny frame and self-deprecating style he became a giant of a man. In the two hour show not one line was wasted. The packed audience was never more than a few seconds away from a smile, a chuckle, a laugh or a massive belly laugh.
Although in his whole career Andrew Lawrence has never worked as an MC much of the first half consisted of banter with the audience with whom he created a wonderful bond. He constantly weaved information he discovered about individuals into his script along the way. He is a master of back referencing previous punchlines and summarising sections of his act.
The tour show format certainly suits Lawrence’s style. The extended set allows him to build and play with an audience, setting the moments of rise and fall during the evening.
Andrew’s current tour is coming to an end within the next few weeks. A new show is planned for the Edinburgh Fringe in August – There is no Escape – and the stories and anecdotes from tonight had certainly echoed the publicity material for the new show: “Is your life so awful you sometimes wish you could disappear completely and never be found?”
From the evidence at our show in Barnard Castle, we have someone in Andrew Lawrence who should never disappear and, indeed, deserves an even great audience.
Cheers, Andrew.
Funny Way To Be Comedy Club are running a series of Edinburgh Fringe taster shows in the coming weeks – with Alun Cochrane, Joe Lycett, Mick Ferry and more on the bill. Click for Funny Way To Be’s full schedule.
