Review: Al Pitcher: Tiny Triumphs – Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh.

Al Pitcher

Al Pitcher is a Kiwi, living in Sweden, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time in five years.  His show, Tiny Triumphs, attracts only a small audience tonight, but this does nothing to deter Pitcher, and nor should it; he clearly has an unyielding confidence in his material.

In case you were wondering, ‘Tiny Triumphs’ relates to the slideshow of pictures that have made Al laugh, and will follow on to make you laugh should you see the show. While some pictures are overtly funny, others need a subtle hint to find the laughs.  The best pictures however, are the ones where only Pitcher has noticed the hilarity within, and teams them up with a story or anecdote to finish off the joke.

He’s a likeable figure is Pitcher; there’s no malice in his jokes, obtrusiveness in his pictures or cruelty to the subjects of his photos.  And by choosing to take these images in Edinburgh, it makes his show personal; almost an insightful tour around a city I’ve lived in for nine years and thought I knew well.

That said, never once I have I noticed a tremendous piece of graffiti outside the museum, or a clumsily parked car outside the church. Yet the clever and witty mind of Al Pitcher has turned my city in to a comic hot spot…

Without spoiling Tiny Triumphs too much, the message behind the show, if you’re looking for one, is one of encouragement; Pitcher wants everyone here tonight to go out with a camera and find the funny side of their own city, just like he did here in Edinburgh.

Date of live review: Friday 10th August 2012.